Clark County Public Defender's Office

Our file clerks got in the spirit today!

Congratulations to Public Defender alum, current hearing commissioner, and Henderson municipal court candidate Catherine Weirsch for receiving the Liberty Bell Award! She was honored by the Clark County Law Foundation for her lasting impact on the defense of individuals’ constitutional rights in mental health crises.

“And Justice For All” now hangs in our office lobby. Thank you to our very own PD, Nicole Weis, for creating this homage to our clients!

Happy Gideon Day! 63 years ago, SCOTUS ruling in the case of Gideon v. Wainwright secured everyone’s right to representation by counsel, including for people who can’t afford to hire an attorney for themself - creating Public Defenders. Public Defenders are here to protect everyone’s rights, and we are proud and honored to do it every single day.

More than ever, we must remember these words during these difficult and uncertain times in our country. Today, we mourn the loss of Rev. Jesse Jackson, but also honor, remember, and find strength and inspiration through his work and lifelong dedication to the civil rights movement and being a voice for those underrepresented throughout our nation. Thank you, Reverend Jesse Jackson. Rest in Power.

Last week, Public Defenders Paloma and Dallas attended Boyd Law School’s Career Fair, speaking to law students interested in joining our office and FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT!!!

Yesterday, several of us attended Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada’s 25th Annual Pro Bono Awards Luncheon to support and celebrate attorneys and community partners for the incredible pro bono work they have done over the past year to help the most vulnerable in our community. We were excited and proud to see our former summer intern, Vanessa Aponte, receive the Public Interest Law Student of Distinction Award. Congratulations to Vanessa!

Investigator Bob Arnony and Public Defender Dallas Anselmo, respectively, won this year’s Best and Worst Moustache/Beard-growing annual contest in support of Men’s Health Awareness Month, Movember. And more importantly, through this annual contest, we raised and donated $250 to the American Cancer Society!

Last night, Clark County Public Defender Nancy Lemcke and Assistant Public Defenders Audrey Conway and John Piro awarded Public Defender Violet Radosta the Scott H. Waite Award for excellence in indigent defense and Departmental Systems Administrator Gilbert Breen the Nikki Krieger Award for excellence in support of indigent defense. Congratulations to both! Very well deserved! Thank you for all you do for indigent defense.

We are grateful for our entire Public Defender family: our amazing attorneys, law clerks, mitigation specialists, social workers, investigators, IT team, secretaries, clerks, receptionists, office runners, and admin. Thank you for all you do for our clients and our community. We sincerely appreciate each one of you for your commitment and dedication.