District Court Judge, Eighth Judicial District, Department 23

• Incumbent District Court Judge, Dept. 23. Took the bench Jan. 4, 2021.
  • Practice Areas: Criminal (Defense) and Civil
• Prior Job Titles:
  • Chief Deputy Public Defender, Clark County (10+ years)
  • Mediator, Neighborhood Justice Center
  • Parking arbitrator
  • Pro bono attorney, Nevada Legal Services

First in her family to graduate college. Says a cousin’s death in a law enforcement encounter, when she was 15, drove her to law.

Two matters on her docket have drawn attention. The first is the prosecution of Cynthia Marabella, Joseph Martinez and William Costa, where she has handled negotiations, a status check, and a denied motion to modify pretrial release. The second is the case the press has taken to calling the "Las Vegas Super Mom" matter, where she confirmed counsel after granting a defense attorney’s motion to withdraw and appointing a public defender.

• “Compassion. Integrity. Accountability.”
• Courtroom experience representing ordinary families. Equal access to justice, careful listening, balanced rulings.
• Emphasizes Veterans Treatment Court and public-safety endorsements.
• Pushes for judges and practitioners to improve courtroom efficiency.

• Major Donors:
  • Eglet Adams
  • BigHorn Law
  • Hutchison & Steffen
  • The rest of the donations under $10,000 are from plaintiff’s slide attorneys, commercial litigation firms and private donors.
• Endorsements:
  • Nevada State AFL-CIO
  • SEIU Nevada Local 1107
  • Professional Fire Fighters of Nevada
  • Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers
  • Plasterers & Cement Masons Local 797
  • Nevada Veterans Association
  • Veterans in Politics International
  • National Organization for Women
  • Coalition for a Fair and Qualified Nevada
  • Plan Action Nevada
  • Asian American Group
  • Hispanics in Politics
  • The Collective PAC

• Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
• Mentor to middle school girls
• Reading programs at at-risk schools
• Nevada Legal Services pro bono
• Neighborhood Justice Center mediator

• Assistant general counsel, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
• 2026 candidate for district court judge, Eighth Judicial District Court, Department 23

Current responsibilities include providing legal advice to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Detention Services Division; reviewing policies, proposed ordinances, contracts and interlocal agreements; advising the sheriff and executive staff; and representing the department in assigned civil and criminal matters.

Practice areas reflected in her public judicial application include civil litigation, criminal matters, juvenile matters, family and domestic matters, constitutional and law enforcement issues and in-house governmental counsel work.

• Prior job titles
  • Litigation manager and assistant general counsel, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (2007-2015)
  • Deputy attorney general and senior deputy attorney general, Nevada Attorney General’s Office, Litigation Division (2005-2007)
  • Law clerk and associate attorney, Alverson Taylor & Sanders (2004-2005)
  • Before becoming an attorney, worked as a paralegal in insurance defense and as a law clerk at a plaintiffs’ personal injury firm while attending law school

• Immigrated from Germany to the United States in 1994 and has lived in Nevada since that year
• First person in her family to attend college and obtain an advanced degree, according to her 2024 judicial application
• Has worked for the Metropolitan Police Department since 2007 and has served as assistant general counsel since 2015
• Previously served as a deputy attorney general and senior deputy attorney general in the Nevada Attorney General's Litigation Division
• At the Attorney General's Office, defended the state of Nevada, state agencies and employees, and handled matters through state and federal courts, including briefing or oral argument in the 9th Circuit and the Nevada Supreme Court
• At the Metropolitan Police Department, has overseen litigation, supervised staff, advised executive leadership, reviewed policies and procedures, handled constitutional and criminal law issues and represented the department in assigned civil and criminal matters
• Has provided legal training to Nevada Department of Corrections officers, Metropolitan Police Department law enforcement and corrections officers and law enforcement audiences in other states through the National Sheriffs' Association
• Co-authored "Current State of Law in Areas Involving Police Conduct," Nevada Lawyer (January 2021)
• Served as a board member of the Friends of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation
• Dean's honor roll

• Clark K. v. Governor Guinn et al. (2006): A complex federal civil rights and class-action matter involving children in Nevada's foster care system. Bauhaus was selected to defend the governor and served as counsel for one of the state defendants. She wrote that the case impressed on her that even a favorable result for a client may not resolve broader systemic problems.
• State v. Eric Christian (2016): Bauhaus was the victim and witness rather than counsel. She described participating in a criminal case from the witness side as having a profound effect on how she approaches witnesses.
• Michael Leon (2022): A high-risk protection order matter involving an individual alleged to have a mental illness and threatening himself and others with firearms. Bauhaus served as lead counsel and stated that the case illustrated the balance between Second Amendment rights and protecting individuals from violence.
• Boykin v. Bainbridge et al. (2006): Federal litigation involving an incarcerated pro se litigant. Bauhaus served as lead defense counsel and reported successfully moving to have the litigant declared vexatious, describing the matter as one that strengthened her analytical skills.
• Daniel DeLaCruz (2014, 2015, 2020): Bauhaus served as counsel for a party in interest in proceedings involving motions for forced psychotropic medication for an incarcerated person with severe mental illness. She described these matters as highlighting difficult tensions between individual rights, safety and mental illness.

Bauhaus’ campaign emphasizes experience, impartiality, firmness, a rule-of-law approach, equal treatment of litigants, public safety, victim protection and offender accountability. Her 2024 Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection personal statement independently emphasized fairness, impartiality, decisions based on facts and law, application of precedent, integrity, appropriate judicial temperament, clear communication, empathy and recusal when reasonable doubt about bias could exist.

• Endorsements
  • Bauhaus’ campaign reports endorsements from numerous law enforcement and public safety organizations and officials, including:
  • Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson
  • Nevada Police Union
  • Peace Officers Research Association of Nevada
  • Douglas County Sheriff’s Protective Association
  • Washoe County Sheriff Deputies Association
  • Washoe County School Police Officers Association
  • Las Vegas Peace Officers Supervisors Association
  • Law Enforcement Assistance Fund
  • Carson City Sheriff’s Supervisory Association
  • Las Vegas Police Protective Association
  • Sparks Police Protective Association
  • Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill
  • Teamsters Nevada
  • The Clark County Prosecutors Association independently lists Bauhaus as its 2026 endorsement for Department 23. The Las Vegas Police Managers and Supervisors Association also independently endorsed her for Department 23.
• Contributions
  • Transparency USA, which aggregates campaign-finance reports filed with state agencies, currently reports approximately $21,100 in contributions and $7,700 in expenditures for Bauhaus's 2026 campaign. Her largest reported contributors include Steven B. Wolfson ($2,000), Eagle Promotions ($1,733), Gregory Smith ($1,000), Joseph Garin ($1,000), Kaempfer Crowell Ltd. ($1,000), Stephanie Sibley ($1,000) and Stephen Singewald ($1,000).

• Volunteer mock trial judge
• Former board member, Friends of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation
• Provided legal training to Nevada Department of Corrections officers
• Teaches law-related classes for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department law enforcement and corrections officers
• Has taught similar classes in other states through the National Sheriffs’ Association
• During college, served as vice president and later president of UNLV’s International Student Association and as vice president of Phi Sigma Alpha