Judge candidates debate Carson courthouse, e-filing

Touting their respective experience, First Judicial District Court Department 2 Judge Kristin Luis and Carson City attorney and challenger Mark Krueger debated on Wednesday court operations including capacity issues at the Carson City Courthouse.

The League of Women Voters of Northern Nevada, Sierra Nevada Forums and AAUW Capital (NV) Branch presented the election forum, one of four co-sponsored by the Nevada Appeal. Wednesday’s event was moderated by Anne Macquarie. More than 120 people attended at the Brewery Arts Center, and the debate can be watched on the Appeal’s YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkW0WlxWjFI.

Luis was assistant district attorney in Carson City and led the criminal division before being elected justice of the peace in 2018. She had also served as a juvenile special master in First Judicial District Court. In December 2023, she was appointed to Department 2 of district court by Gov. Joe Lombardo, and now she is seeking a full term.

Mark Krueger currently serves as the chief deputy attorney general and consumer counsel in the Nevada Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection, where he helped recover settlement money from companies involved in the opioid epidemic. He was previously assistant district attorney in Carson City and Lyon County.

A question Wednesday about helping litigants “who have to defend themselves” touched off disagreement about the Carson City Courthouse’s capacity.

During the budget process earlier this year, the Carson City Board of Supervisors approved a capital improvement plan including a courthouse remodel, estimated to cost up to $20 million. The item was slated for 2027 in that CIP. Besides justice and district court, the courthouse contains the District Attorney’s Office, Clerk-Recorder’s Office and Department of Alternative Sentencing. According to city officials, a third justice of the peace will be needed if the city’s population passes 60,000.

Luis said in criminal cases, those who can’t afford an attorney can be appointed one through the city’s public defender’s office. In family law civil cases, she said there are existing resources like Volunteer Attorneys for Rural Nevadans and the city’s lawyer in the library program for those needing help.

“I will tell you every time I’m handling a case in court, if I have self-represented litigants, I take the time at the beginning of the case to walk them through the process, explain how things are going to go, and once I make a decision, I lay out the findings of fact that I’m making, the decision I’m making and the reasons for that decision,” said Luis.

Krueger agreed with Luis’ thoughts but added: “I also have done a lot of volunteer lawyering, and what I’ve realized is something that could really be helpful and beneficial to people who are indigent, and particularly in a family law center — and if you see some of these places that have been established in other courts in larger cities — I think Carson is right at that time where we’re ripe for it. And what I would propose creating is a lawyer in the lobby-type program, a self-help program… Sure, there are some resources on the Nevada Supreme Court website and things of that nature, but there really isn’t a lot of educational material that’s out there for Carson City residents, and there is no reason that can’t be implemented fairly inexpensively to almost no money at all.”

On Krueger’s proposal, Luis commented, “Having it in the courthouse, there’s really not the space for that, but there is the opportunity through the lawyer in the library program.”

Kruger responded: “I disagree. I think there is space in the courthouse. I think there is plenty of opportunity to increase educational outreach programs to people especially where they need it, which is at the courthouse, rather than making them tromp throughout Carson City to try to find a place.”

Krueger also advocated for electronic filing for the courts and a potential business court, pointing out First Judicial includes Storey County and “the largest, largest business park in the nation.”

“I think one of the biggest challenges is electronic filing, and I know that there’s been a movement to work with the state to try to get electronic filing in place. That’s not acceptable,” Krueger said. “We need to get it done, and we need to get it done quickly.”

In July, Carson court officials, including Luis, announced district and justice court would work with the Nevada Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) on a new online case management system slated for 2026. According to a news release, the cost for a new system (not the state’s) would be more than $1 million for implementation and $400,000 a year for ongoing maintenance and equipment.

“The courts and Carson City currently pay a total of $89,000 annually to access the AOC’s case management systems,” the release said. “This is a minimal cost in comparison to the First Judicial District Court and the Carson City Justice/Municipal Court to purchase, implement, and maintain its own case management systems.”

“As far as e-filing is concerned, we all would like to have e-filing. It’s a convenience, mainly to the attorneys but also to the parties to some extent,” said Luis. “E-filing comes at a significant cost, though — $1.4 million for the county … considering that money comes out of the county budget, there is a lot more we could do with that $1.4 million.

“As a judge, I sit in the courthouse on a regular basis. We supervise the juvenile court, and we all work together collaboratively. We have needs that exceed e-filing. Currently in our juvenile system, we have a detention facility where there are not enough beds for the kids that we have in that facility. It requires restructuring.”

On the business court proposal, Luis said, “We don’t have enough business cases to support or warrant a business court at this point in time; however, if that becomes an issue, I certainly support considering that option.”

The last question focused on specialty courts in the Carson judicial system. Luis said these include misdemeanor treatment court started in 2016, a mental health court program started in 2005, the Western Regional Drug Court program, a juvenile drug court and a DUI diversion program for those with a third-offense DUI.

Luis called the specialty courts “highly monitored programs.” For example, she pointed out, the DUI diversion program can take three to five years of “consistent treatment and supervision, and then they will no longer have that third offense on their record unless they commit a new DUI offense.”

“Are we in support of the specialty courts?” Krueger responded. “There’s no doubt about it. Kristin is in support of them. I’m in support of the specialty courts. We all want to help people, and that’s one of the things the specialty courts do.”

Krueger added specialty courts need to be expanded and “reevaluated constantly.”