Carson City District Judge Russell to retire in October

First Judicial District Judge James Todd Russell has stories to tell about his nearly 18 years on the bench, about high-profile cases, about the historic legacy of his family in the Silver State, about the people in the Carson City judiciary he admires.

One thing he mentioned in a July 24 interview was the interior color scheme in the Carson City Courthouse. Behind him, the rear wall of his chambers was a deep burgundy.

“One of the main things I did… I brought color to the court,” he said, recalling the uniform white before his tenure. “I was the first one that painted their office a color, and as a result of that, it was a hoot. It just evolved right through court, went down to the judicial assistants, went to the next judge, went to the clerk’s office, went to the courtrooms, went to the downstairs… everything.”

A colorful character himself, relaying tales with undaunted merriment, Russell confirmed he would retire from the department 1 seat effective Oct. 31. According to a representative of the state’s Administrative Office of the Courts, applications for the seat will go out in mid-August, followed by interviews and an interim appointment by the governor.

The appointment process will be like the one following District Court Judge James Wilson’s retirement in January, when former Carson City Justice of the Peace Kristin Luis was appointed by Gov. Joe Lombardo to temporarily fill that seat.

“I’m 76 years old. I will be 77 in November, and it was just a good time,” Russell said. “There is a time. There really is a time … You know, I’ve never not wanted to come to work. I’ve always enjoyed the job. It’s been a great job. It really has. It really has been my privilege to represent Carson City and Storey County. It’s been a wonderful, wonderful job.”

Appointed by then-Gov. Kenny Guinn in 2006, Russell said he ran for three elections unopposed.

“My entire political career cost me …. three filing fees,” he said. “$450.”

Before becoming a judge, Russell had been in private practice and before that was chair of the Nevada Ethics Commission, a deputy attorney general for the state and a law clerk for the Nevada Supreme Court.

Russell is also a veteran, having served as first lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He said he was supposed to go to Saigon, but then-President Richard Nixon started pulling out troops, and Russell found himself stationed at the Oakland Army Base “accounting for everybody coming and going from Vietnam.”

Decades later, having never seen the country in his military service, Russell visited Vietnam on a personal trip, calling the country wonderful. Traveling is important to Russell and his spouse, Jeanne. They’ve seen the Himalayas, the Middle East and eastern Europe. And they have trips planned for Switzerland, India and Japan.

Russell’s oral travelogues evoked the adventurous spirit of his family, descendants of Nevada pioneers. His grandfather was Clark Guild, who also became a district judge in Carson City and founded the Nevada State Museum. Russell’s father, Charles Russell, served two terms as Nevada governor in the 1950s. He was born in Lovelock near the turn of the 20th century and before becoming a politician taught school in rural Ruby Valley, among other trades. As an adolescent, James Todd Russell lived in Paraguay when his father was appointed to a foreign post. But the young man did return to Carson and graduated from Carson High in 1965.

During the interview, Russell displayed Socrates’ four guidelines for a judge, a framed note that had been passed from his grandfather, Guild, to Guild’s successor, Judge Frank Gregory. Socrates’ qualifications are “to hear courteously, to answer wisely, to consider soberly,” and “to decide impartially.”

The guidelines seem fitting for Russell’s tenure. Beside criminal and family law cases, First Judicial District Court sees a variety of difficult political cases, and Russell has ruled against both Democrat and Republican interests. For example, he ruled against Democrat lawmakers who extended certain taxes and fees in the 2019 legislative session without a two-thirds supermajority and were sued by their Republican colleagues. Russell’s ruling was upheld by the Nevada Supreme Court.

“Based on the plain language of the supermajority provision, we conclude that it applies to the subject bills because they create, generate or increase public revenue,” according to former Chief Justice Jim Hardesty. “Because the bills did not pass by a two-thirds majority in the Senate, those portions of the bills that would require a supermajority vote are unconstitutional.”

Another example: In 2020, following the presidential election, Russell made headlines when he dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Trump campaign — one of many across the country. The lawsuit contested election results that showed then-challenger Joe Biden as the winner in Nevada. Not finding evidence of election fraud, Russell’s ruling was upheld by the Nevada Supreme Court days later, but the issue didn’t go away.

“I had probably 80 written threats, 40 verbal threats, four death threats,” Russell recalled about the aftermath of the Trump ruling.

He said being threatened as a judge is part of the job, but he was troubled his home and family members had been involved. Carson City’s Department of Alternative Sentencing provided security outside the judge’s house some nights, and the FBI investigated four of the threats, Russell said.

“More than anything, I think, ‘Thank God for the judicial branch in the United States,’ basically in regards to all these election fraud cases because every single one of them was thrown out across the United States,” he said. “What happened is the judiciary provided an independent, honest review of these facts and these cases to make a determination.”

Independence of the judiciary is important, Russell stressed. Perhaps no case of his exemplified that more than taking on statewide redistricting in 2011.

“The Legislature couldn’t come to a decision on how to redistrict the state of Nevada, so it ended up in my court,” Russell said. “So, I got the case, and as a result of getting the case, the smartest thing I did was I decided I would have three special masters. I selected a Republican, a Democrat and an independent. One from the rurals, one from Las Vegas and one from basically representing the north… Texas had spent $500,000 just trying to figure out how to do it. We spent $35,000 paying these guys.”

Russell remembered going to a private room in the Legislature to examine maps. A proposal arose from the panel, which he examined and finetuned, and then issued a decision in court.

“Neither side appealed,” he said. “That was the end of it for the state of Nevada.”

At the time of the Appeal’s interview, Russell planned to stay on as a senior judge to assist the court part-time. He planned to complete his scheduled trips abroad. He talked fondly of spending time with his two sons and four grandchildren. When asked what he’d miss most about the court, he gave the same answer Wilson did in January.

“The people,” Russell said. “Again, I can’t tell you how wonderful the staff and the dedicated people of this court are. They’re just wonderful.”