5.020 - Municipal judges: Election; term; oath; qualifications; justice of the peace as ex officio municipal judge.

5.020  Municipal judges: Election; term; oath; qualifications; justice of the peace as ex officio municipal judge.

      1.  Except as provided in subsection 3 and NRS 266.405, each municipal judge must be chosen by the electors of the city within which the municipal court is established on a day to be fixed by the governing body of that city. The term of office of a municipal judge is the period fixed by:

      (a) An ordinance adopted by the city if the city is organized under general law; or

      (b) The charter of the city if the city is organized under a special charter.

Ê Before entering upon his or her duties, a municipal judge shall take the constitutional oath of office.

      2.  A municipal judge must:

      (a) Be a citizen of the State;

      (b) Except as otherwise provided in the charter of a city organized under a special charter, have been a bona fide resident of the city for not less than 1 year next preceding his or her election;

      (c) Be a qualified elector in the city; and

      (d) Not have ever been removed or retired from any judicial office by the Commission on Judicial Discipline.

      3.  The governing body of a city, with the consent of the board of county commissioners and the justice of the peace, may provide that a justice of the peace of the township in which the city is located is ex officio the municipal judge of the city.

      4.  For the purposes of this section, a person shall not be ineligible to be a candidate for the office of municipal judge if a decision to remove or retire the person from a judicial office is pending appeal before the Supreme Court or has been overturned by the Supreme Court.

      [36:19:1865; B § 941; BH § 2454; C § 2536; RL § 4856; NCL § 8398]—(NRS A 1983, 899; 1985, 671; 1999, 95, 1183)