List of justices of the Supreme Court of Nevada

Territorial Supreme Court

• George Turner (1861–1864)
• Horatio M. Jones (1861–1864)
• Gordon N. Mott (1861–1864)
• Powhatan B. Locke (1864–1864)
• John W. North (1864–1864)

Statehood

Following is a list of the Supreme Court of Nevada justices.

Years			Seat 1	Seat 2	Seat 3
1864	seats established in 1967		H. O. Beatty [1] [2]	Cornelius M. Brosnan [1] [3]	James F. Lewis [1]	seats established in 1999
1865
1866
1867
				J. Neely Johnson [4]
1868
1869			Bernard C. Whitman [5]
1870
1871				John Garber [6]
1872
1873				Charles H. Belknap [7]	Thomas P. Hawley [8]
1874
1875			William H. Beatty	Warner Earll [9]
1876
1877				Orville R. Leonard
1878
1879
1880
1881			Charles H. Belknap
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889				Michael A. Murphy
1890
1891					Rensselaer R. Bigelow [10]
1892
1893
1894
1895				McKaskia Stearns Bonnifield
1896
1897					William A. Massey [11]
1898
1899
1900
1901				Adolphus L. Fitzgerald
1902					Thomas V. Julien [12]
1903					George F. Talbot
1904
1905			Frank H. Norcross
1906
1907				James G. Sweeney
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913				Patrick McCarran
1914
1915					Benjamin W. Coleman [13]
1916
1917			John A. Sanders
1918
1919				Edward A. Ducker [14]
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935	E. J. L. Taber [15]
1936
1937
1938
1939
		William Edwin Orr [16] [17]
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
		Charles Lee Horsey [18]
1946
			Edgar Eather [19] [20]
1947
	Milton B. Badt [21] [22]
1948
1949
1950
1951		Charles M. Merrill [23]
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959			Frank McNamee [24] [25]
		Miles N. Pike [26] [27]
1960
1961
		Gordon R. Thompson [28]
1962
1963
1964
1965
			David Zenoff [29] [30]
1966
	Jon R. Collins [31]
1967
				John C. Mowbray [32]	Cameron McV. Batjer [32] [33]
1968
1969
1970
1971	Elmer M. Gunderson
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
			Noel E. Manoukian [34]
1978
1979
1980
1981		Charles E. Springer
1982					Thomas L. Steffen [35]
1983
1984
1985			C. Clifton Young
1986
1987
1988
1989	Robert E. Rose
1990
1991
1992
1993				Miriam Shearing
1994
1995
1996
1997					A. William Maupin
1998
1999		Deborah Agosti				Myron E. Leavitt [36]	Nancy A. Becker
2000
2001
2002
2003			Mark Gibbons
2004						Michael L. Douglas [37]
2005		James Hardesty		Ron Parraguirre
2006
2007	Michael Cherry						Nancy Saitta [38]
2008
2009					Kristina Pickering
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017							Lidia S. Stiglich [39]
2018
2019	Elissa F. Cadish					Abbi Silver [40]
2020
2021			Douglas W. Herndon
2022
2023		Linda M. Bell				Patricia Lee [41]
Years	Seat A	Seat B	Seat C	Seat D	Seat E	Seat F	Seat G

Chief justices

The Chief Justice rotates on the Supreme Court of Nevada, almost always to a judge who is in their final two years of their term. Following the expansions of the court in 1967 and 1999, judges began to split what had traditionally been a two-year term between two or three justices, allowing each justice the opportunity to be Chief Justice during their six-year term. For many chief justices, the date of dates of tenure are drawn from the dates of court terms in the Nevada Judicial History Database.

Order (sequential)	Order (by first tenure)	Chief Justice	Began	Ended	Ref.
— (territorial)		George Turner	March 27, 1861	August 22, 1864	[42]
1	1	James F. Lewis	November 8, 1864	January 7, 1867	[42]
2	2	H. O. Beatty	January 7, 1867	November 9, 1868	[43]
3	1	James F. Lewis	November 9, 1868	January 6, 1873	[42]
4	3	Bernard C. Whitman	January 6, 1873	January 4, 1875	[42] [44]
5	4	Thomas P. Hawley	January 4, 1875	January 6, 1879	[42] [44]
6	5	William H. Beatty	January 6, 1879	January 3, 1881	[42] [44]
7	6	Orville R. Leonard	January 3, 1881	January 1, 1883	[42] [44]
8	4	Thomas P. Hawley	January 1, 1883	January 5, 1885	[45] [44]
9	7	Charles H. Belknap	January 5, 1885	January 3, 1887	[46] [44]
10	6	Orville R. Leonard	January 3, 1887	January 7, 1889	[47] [44]
11	4	Thomas P. Hawley	January 7, 1889	September 27, 1890	[48] [44]
12	8	Rensselaer R. Bigelow	December 2, 1890	January 5, 1891	[49] [44]
13	7	Charles H. Belknap	January 5, 1891	January 2, 1893	[50] [44]
14	9	Michael A. Murphy	January 2, 1893	January 7, 1895	[51] [44]
15	8	Rensselaer R. Bigelow	January 7, 1895	January 4, 1897	[52] [44]
16	7	Charles H. Belknap	January 4, 1897	January 2, 1899	[53] [44]
17	10	McKaskia Stearns Bonnifield	January 2, 1899	January 7, 1901	[54] [44]
18	11	William A. Massey	January 7, 1901	September 1, 1902	[55] [44]
19	12	Thomas V. Julien	September 15, 1902	January 5, 1903	[56] [44]
20	7	Charles H. Belknap	January 5, 1903	January 2, 1905	[57] [44]
21	13	Adolphus L. Fitzgerald	January 2, 1905	January 7, 1907	[58] [44]
22	14	George Frederick Talbot	January 7, 1907	January 4, 1909	[59] [44]
23	15	Frank H. Norcross	January 4, 1909	January 2, 1911	[60] [44]
24	16	James G. Sweeney	January 2, 1911	January 6, 1913	[61] [44]
25	14	George F. Talbot	January 6, 1913	January 4, 1915	[62] [44]
26	15	Frank H. Norcross	January 4, 1915	January 1, 1917	[63] [44]
27	17	Patrick McCarran	January 1, 1917	January 6, 1919	[64] [44]
28	18	Benjamin W. Coleman	January 6, 1919	January 3, 1921	[65] [44]
29	19	John A. Sanders	January 3, 1921	January 2, 1923	[66] [44]
30	20	Edward A. Ducker	January 2, 1923	January 5, 1925	[67] [44]
31	18	Benjamin W. Coleman	January 5, 1925	January 3, 1927	[68] [44]
32	19	John A. Sanders	January 3, 1927	January 4, 1929	[69] [44]
33	20	Edward A. Ducker	January 4, 1929	January 5, 1931	[70] [44]
34	18	Benjamin W. Coleman	January 5, 1931	January 2, 1933	[71] [44]
35	19	John A. Sanders	January 2, 1933	January 7, 1935	[72] [44]
36	20	Edward A. Ducker	January 7, 1935	January 4, 1937	[73] [44]
37	18	Benjamin W. Coleman	January 4, 1937	January 2, 1939	[74] [44]
38	21	E. J. L. Taber	January 2, 1939	January 6, 1941	[75] [44]
39	20	Edward A. Ducker	January 6, 1941	January 4, 1943	[76] [44]
40	22	William Edwin Orr	January 4, 1943	January 1, 1945	[77] [44]
41	21	E. J. L. Taber	January 1, 1945	January 6, 1947	[78] [44]
42	23	Edgar Eather	January 6, 1947	January 1, 1949	[79] [44]
43	24	Charles Lee Horsey	January 1, 1949	January 2, 1951	[80]
44	25	Milton B. Badt	January 2, 1951	January 6, 1953	[80] [44]
45	23	Edgar Eather	January 6, 1953	January 4, 1955	[80]
46	26	Charles M. Merrill	January 4, 1955	January 8, 1957	[80]
47	25	Milton B. Badt	January 8, 1957	October 1, 1959	[80]
48	26	Charles M. Merrill	October 1, 1959	October 1, 1959	[81]
49	27	Frank McNamee	January 5, 1960	January 3, 1961	[80]
50	25	Milton B. Badt	January 3, 1961	January 5, 1965	[80]
51	27	Frank McNamee	January 5, 1965	February 17, 1965	[80]
52	28	Gordon R. Thompson	February 17, 1965	January 7, 1969	[80]
53	29	Jon R. Collins	January 7, 1969	January 5, 1971	[80]
54	30	David Zenoff	January 5, 1971	January 2, 1973	[80] [44]
55	28	Gordon R. Thompson	January 2, 1973	January 7, 1975	[80]
56	31	Elmer M. Gunderson	January 7, 1975	January 4, 1977	[80]
57	32	Cameron McV. Batjer	January 4, 1977	January 4, 1979	[80]
58	33	John C. Mowbray	January 4, 1979	January 3, 1981	[80]
59	31	Elmer M. Gunderson	January 3, 1981	January 1, 1983	[80]
60	34	Noel E. Manoukian	January 1, 1983	January 7, 1985	[80]
61	35	Charles E. Springer	January 7, 1985	January 6, 1986	[80]
62	33	John C. Mowbray	January 6, 1986	January 5, 1987	[80]
63	31	Elmer M. Gunderson	January 5, 1987	January 2, 1989	[80]
64	36	C. Clifton Young	January 2, 1989	January 7, 1991	[80]
65	33	John C. Mowbray	January 7, 1991	January 4, 1993	[80]
66	37	Robert E. Rose	January 4, 1993	January 3, 1995	[80]
67	38	Thomas L. Steffen	January 3, 1995	January 6, 1997	[80]
68	39	Miriam Shearing	January 6, 1997	January 5, 1998	[80] [44]
69	35	Charles E. Springer	January 5, 1998	January 1, 1999	[80]
70	37	Robert E. Rose	January 1, 1999	January 2, 2001	[80]
71	40	A. William Maupin	January 2, 2001	January 6, 2003	[80]
72	41	Deborah Agosti	January 6, 2003	January 5, 2004	[80]
73	39	Miriam Shearing	January 5, 2004	January 1, 2005	[80] [44]
74	42	Nancy A. Becker	January 1, 2005	January 1, 2006	[80]
75	37	Robert E. Rose	January 1, 2006	January 2, 2007	[80]
76	40	A. William Maupin	January 2, 2007	January 7, 2008	[80]
77	43	Mark Gibbons	January 7, 2008	January 2, 2009	[80]
78	44	James Hardesty	January 2, 2009	January 4, 2010	[80]
79	45	Ron Parraguirre	January 4, 2010	January 3, 2011	[82]
80	46	Michael L. Douglas	January 3, 2011	September 5, 2011	[83] [44]
81	47	Nancy Saitta	September 5, 2011	May 7, 2012	[84]
82	48	Michael Cherry	May 7, 2012	January 7, 2013	[84]
83	49	Kristina Pickering	January 7, 2013	January 6, 2014	[85]
84	43	Mark Gibbons	January 6, 2014	January 5, 2015	[86]
85	44	James Hardesty	January 5, 2015	January 4, 2016	[87]
86	45	Ron Parraguirre	January 4, 2016	January 2, 2017	[88]
87	48	Michael Cherry	January 2, 2017	January 1, 2018	[89]
88	46	Michael L. Douglas	January 1, 2018	January 7, 2019	[90]
89	43	Mark Gibbons	January 7, 2019	January 6, 2020	[91]
90	49	Kristina Pickering	January 6, 2020	January 4, 2021	[92]
91	44	James Hardesty	January 4, 2021	January 5, 2022	[93]
92	45	Ron Parraguirre	January 5, 2022	January 2, 2023	[94]
93	50	Lidia S. Stiglich	January 2, 2023	January 2, 2024	[95]
94	51	Elissa F. Cadish	January 2, 2024	January 6, 2025	[96]
95	52	Douglas W. Herndon	January 6, 2025	present	[97]

Notes

1. Took office (December 5, 1864).
2. Resigned (November 9, 1868).
3. Died (April 21, 1867).
4. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Brosnan's death; subsequently elected.
5. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Beatty's resignation; subsequently elected.
6. Resigned (November 7, 1872).
7. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Garber's resignation.
8. Resigned (September 27, 1890).
9. Elected to fill vacancy left by Garber's resignation.
10. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Beatty's resignation (December 2, 1890); elected to full term (November 4, 1890).
11. Resigned (September 1, 1902).
12. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Massey's resignation (September 15, 1902).
13. Died (February 25, 1939).
14. Died (August 14, 1946).
15. Died (February 6, 1947).
16. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Coleman's death (March 2, 1939); subsequently elected.
17. Resigned (October 10, 1945).
18. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Orr's resignation (October 10, 1945); subsequently elected.
19. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Ducker's death (September 18, 1946); subsequently elected.
20. Resigned (December 15, 1958).
21. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Taber's death (March 26, 1947); subsequently elected.
22. Died (April 2, 1966).
23. Resigned (October 1, 1959).
24. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Eather's resignation (December 15, 1958); subsequently elected.
25. Resigned (February 17, 1965).
26. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Merrill's resignation (October 1, 1959); subsequently elected.
27. Resigned (June 5, 1961).
28. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Pike's resignation (June 5, 1961); subsequently elected.
29. Appointed to fill vacancy left by McNamee's resignation (May 1, 1965); subsequently elected.
30. Resigned (May 2, 1977).
31. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Badt's death (June 5, 1966); subsequently elected.
32. Appointed to newly established seat (October 1, 1967); subsequently elected.
33. Resigned (November 4, 1981).
34. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Zenoff's resignation (May 2, 1977); subsequently elected.
35. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Batjer's resignation (April 26, 1982); subsequently elected.
36. Died (January 9, 2004).
37. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Leavitt's death (April 19, 2004); subsequently elected.
38. Resigned (August 8, 2016).
39. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Saitta's resignation (November 10, 2016); subsequently elected.
40. Resigned (September 30, 2022).
41. Appointed to fill vacancy left by Silver's resignation (November 21, 2022).
42. Angel, Myron (1881). History of Nevada: with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers.
43. "From Nevada". Harrisburg Telegraph. January 9, 1867.
44. "Nevada Judicial History Database". Nevada Administrative Office of the Courts. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
45. "Nevada State Government". Reno Gazette-Journal. February 1, 1883.
46. "The House". The Daily Appeal. January 6, 1885.
47. "Assembly". The Daily Appeal. January 6, 1887.
48. "The Carson Mint". The Weekly Gazette and Stockman. September 12, 1889.
49. "The Legal Profession". Reno Gazette-Journal. December 24, 1890.
50. "Sworn In". The Daily Appeal. January 6, 1891.
51. "Nevada Legislature". The Daily Appeal. January 17, 1893.
52. "Brevities". Weekly Nevada State Journal. January 12, 1895.
53. "The Nevada Legislature". Nevada State Journal. January 19, 1897.
54. "Official Register". The Daily Appeal. July 7, 1899.
55. "Around the Corridors". Nevada State Journal. October 12, 1901.
56. "Local and Otherwise". The Pioche Record . September 26, 1902. Retrieved February 10, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
57. "Governor Sparks". The Daily Appeal. January 6, 1903.
58. "Assembly". The Daily Appeal. January 17, 1905.
59. "Justice Sweeney Inducted". The Daily Appeal. January 7, 1907.
60. "Preston and Smith Case is Heard". The Daily Appeal. January 8, 1909.
61. "New State Officers Take Official Oath". The Daily Appeal. January 2, 1911.
62. "New Judge Takes Oath". The Daily Appeal. January 6, 1913.
63. "Inauguration Attended by Simblest Kind of Ceremony". The Daily Appeal. January 4, 1915.
64. "All Supreme Court Justices Democratic". The Sacramento Bee. January 3, 1917.
65. "People and Matters of Interest". The Daily Appeal. January 11, 1919.
66. "Hon. J. A. Sanders Becomes Chief Justice". The Daily Appeal. January 3, 1921.
67. "Many are Present at Annual Club Banquet". Yerington Times. March 28, 1923.
68. "Both Open for Business: Officials Chosen". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 19, 1925.
69. "Others Take Oath". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 3, 1927.
70. "News of Carson in Brief Form". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 10, 1929.
71. "Nevada Officers to Take Oath". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 3, 1931.
72. "Politics". Reno Gazette-Journal. December 31, 1932.
73. "State Inaugural Ceremonies Set for Monday". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 5, 1935.
74. "Coleman Becomes Court Head for 4th Time". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 4, 1937.
75. "Chief Executive Introduced by Retiring Head of State". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 3, 1939.
76. "Judge Ducker Chief Justice For 4th Time". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 4, 1941.
77. "State Officials Take Oaths at Carson Today". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 4, 1943.
78. "Attache Group is Sworn in by Justice Taber". Nevada State Journal. January 17, 1945.
79. "Judges Perform 63 Per Cent Of All Marriages in County". Nevada State Journal. January 5, 1947.
80. "The History of the Conference of Chief Justices" (PDF). Conference of Chief Justices/National Center for State Courts. 2009.
81. "Vegan Named Chief Justice". Reno Gazette-Journal. September 17, 1959.
82. "Pacificare of Nevada, Inc. v. Griffiths". Supreme Court of Nevada. January 4, 2010.
83. "Rookie governors facing unhappy new year". NBC News. January 4, 2011. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020.
84. "Justice Michael Cherry Becomes Supreme Court Chief Justice". Supreme Court of Nevada. May 7, 2012.
85. "Michael Cherry ends term as Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice". Supreme Court of Nevada. December 31, 2012.
86. "Justice Pickering completes term as Chief Justice". Supreme Court of Nevada. January 3, 2014.
87. "James W. Hardesty to Become Chief Justice of Nevada Supreme Court". Supreme Court of Nevada. December 30, 2014.
88. "Ron. D. Parraguirre Appointed as Chief Justice of Nevada Supreme Court". Supreme Court of Nevada. January 4, 2016.
89. "Nevada Appellate Courts Change Leadership in 2017". Supreme Court of Nevada. December 16, 2016.
90. "Retiring Justice Michael L. Douglas Selected to Serve as 2018 Chief Justice". Supreme Court of Nevada. December 4, 2017.
91. "Justice Gibbons Begins Term as Chief Justice: Two Justices Join the Nevada Supreme Court". Supreme Court of Nevada. January 7, 2019.
92. "Kristina Pickering Begins Term as 2020 Supreme Court Chief Justice". Supreme Court of Nevada. January 2, 2020.
93. "Hardesty Begins Term as Chief Justice, Herndon Joins the Nevada Supreme Court". Supreme Court of Nevada. January 13, 2021.
94. "Parraguirre Begins Term as Chief Justice of Nevada Supreme Court" (Press release). Supreme Court of Nevada. January 5, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
95. "Inauguration ceremonies for Nevada's 31st Governor" . Retrieved January 26, 2023.
96. "Elissa Cadish Assumes Role as Chief Justice of Nevada Supreme Court". KTVN . January 2, 2024.
97. Sheridan, Kevin (January 6, 2025). "Herndon begins term as Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court". KVVU-TV .

Sources

• Political History of Nevada. Chapter 6: The Nevada Judiciary
• Nevada Judicial Historical Society Memorials and Investitures

External links

• Media related to Justices of the Nevada Supreme Court at Wikimedia Commons