Nominees for Supreme Court sent to Sandoval

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection has announced its three nominees for the open seat on the Nevada Supreme Court.

The names of Elissa Cadish, 52, and Mark Ralph Denton, 65, both of Las Vegas, and Lidia Stiglich, 46, of Reno were forwarded to Gov. Brian Sandoval who will make the final choice.

His appointee will fill the seat vacated by the retirement of Nancy Saitta earlier this year.

All three finalists are currently district judges.

They were among nine lawyers who applied for the vacancy. To qualify, applicants had to be Nevada attorneys with at least 15 years legal experience and two years residency in Nevada.

The entire selection process including the interviews with candidates was open to the public. The commission consists of seven permanent members — the Supreme Court Chief Justice, three non-lawyers named by the governor and three lawyers appointed by the State Bar. Neither the governor nor the bar can appoint more than two members from the same political party and can’t appoint two members from the same county.