Municipal Court Judge, Dept. 1, City Of Las Vegas

• Attorney
  • Practice Areas: Criminal Law
  • Prior Job Titles: Senior Deputy City Attorney

“One of my greatest career accomplishments is the creation of the Psychiatric Stabilization and Treatment (PST) program,” Walker wrote. He began when he noticed the need for addressing mental health crises among incarcerated defendants. Without having any funding to support the creation of a program, he began reaching out to various stakeholders both inside and outside the city to find out what resources already existed that were being underutilized. He then built mutually beneficial partnerships with those stakeholders to facilitate the transfer of inmates from the jail to a secure psychiatric hospital where they would receive additional treatment. This model reduced detention costs to the city and risks to both inmates and corrections officers by putting the mentally ill in a more therapeutic environment until they were in a better condition to return to court and address their cases. After several years of administering this program unfunded, he was able to work with the court to obtain dedicated funding based on the substantial results the program had demonstrated in reducing recidivism and reintegrating defendants back into the community. The PST program continues to help those in the court system with mental health needs and he take great pride in the good it is doing for the community.

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Walker said that being a municipal court judge was an amazing opportunity to make real and lasting change in both the community and the lives of its members. He said he is running for retention so he can continue helping people and keeping the community safe.

He said maintaining impartiality and enforcing the law are foundational tenets of the judiciary and are critical requirements for any judge. In order for a judge to follow through with these duties, he or she must have a solid grasp of the laws and jurisprudence applicable to his or her jurisdiction, as well as an attentive and patient demeanor. This will ensure rulings which are rooted in the law and the facts presented. Within this context, judges should also work to ensure public safety and to improve the community they preside over, he said

• Endorsements: LVPPA, PFFN, CCPA, NPU, LVPOSA, LVPOA, LVPMSA, LEAF, POACCSD, PSAN, RPPA, CCSSA, SPPA, WCSPOA, WCSDA, DCSPA, PORAN
• Major Donors: Mayor Shelley Berkley, Alex and Orlando Decastroverde, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, Robert Draskovich and Michael Horvath

He is currently serving on the Nevada Supreme Court Committee to Study Evidence-Based Pretrial Release.

• Attorney
  • Practice areas: Civil litigation. She currently works at Legal Aid
  • Center of Southern Nevada in the Minor Guardianship Advocacy Project
    • She represent kids, giving them a voice in court.
• Practice areas:
  • Criminal: She practiced criminal defense for eight years as a public defender in Wisconsin.
  • Civil (not including family): N/A.
  • Family: She practiced family law for approximately two years.
• For approximately 10 years, she worked as a court administrator and in various other legal administrative and policy positions.
• Prior job titles: social worker, program manager, volunteer, coordinator, assistant state public defender, local attorney, manager (Wisconsin state public defender), regional attorney, manager (Wisconsin state public defender), senior adjunct, professor, court division administrator, project director, division manager, chief appeals referee, director of impact.

She began her career as a social worker and worked full time while she attended law school at night and on weekends. In 2008, she was awarded the Howard B. Eisenberg Service Award from Marquette University Law School. In 2018, she was awarded the Excellence in Technology Award from Tyler Technologies.

In 2010, she secured a not guilty verdict at trial for her client who was accused of first degree intentional homicide.

She has previously worked as an administrator at Las Vegas Municipal Court and saw, firsthand, the negative effects an apathetic judiciary can have on everything from employee morale to case outcomes. She knew that the community deserved better, so she decided to run for judge. She wants to create a community-centered court that is innovative, transparent and efficient. She said she will do this by implementing research-based policies and best practices; making court information easily understandable and accessible; ensuring her courtroom doors are always unlocked and the public is encouraged to observe proceedings; introducing new technologies; and developing a court advisory council made up of community members and leaders, experts from private industry, and those with lived experience.

Candidate said: “A judge’s role is to interpret the law. However, judges should also have a plan for how they will improve the lives of those who come through their courtroom, and a vision for how they will leave the institution better than when they came.”

"I believe I’m the best candidate for Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge in Department 1 because I’m the most educated candidate, with two bachelor's degrees, a master’s degree, a juris doctor, and basic and advanced mediation training. I’m the most experienced, with a background in education, social work, mediation, management, policy development, and civil and criminal law. I have the greatest diversity of thought and perspective since five of the six current judges are former prosecutors; and I will bring representation and equity to the bench as the first Black woman to be elected to that court.”

• She has been endorsed by Nevada Veterans Caucus, Independent Black Voters, Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers, Nevada NOW PAC, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) Action, Democratic Municipal Officials and Las Vegas Police Protective Association of Civilian Employees.
• Major donors: She is running a grassroots campaign, so the majority of her donors are members of our community. Thus far, 87 donors have contributed to her campaign. Her largest donors are Leadership for Educational Equity, Kris Engelstad and attorney Michael Hua.

She said: “I love giving back to our community as an avid volunteer. I give my time to the Board of Purpose Leadership Academy, a proposed public charter school; William S. Boyd School of Law, conducting mock interviews with students; Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, mentoring private bar attorneys who take pro bono cases; Nevada Veterans Caucus, visiting sick veterans in the hospital; Get Outdoors Nevada; Law Alumni Board of Marquette University Law School; Southern Nevada Senior Law Program; Just One Project; and The LGBTQ Center.”

Job title: Attorney, Law Office of Amanda Pellizzari Practice areas: Primarily criminal defense

Currently she is the managing member of the Law Office of Amanda Pellizzari, primarily representing criminal defense clients. She said she is qualified to handle all criminal matters, including Category A felonies, appeals, habeas petitions and juvenile issues. She is a public attorney for Las Vegas Municipal Court, having served from 2011-2013 and again from 2024-present. She handles the court’s caseload for indigent defendants, representing clients for status checks, sentencing, negotiations, revocation hearings, motions and trials. Pellizzari has appeared for matters before the Veterans and Youth Offender courts. She also was managing member for Gregory & Waldo, representing primarily criminal defense clients, including defendants in federal court. Pellizzari applied to be appointed as judge in Department 1 of the Las Vegas Municipal Court in 2025 and was one of the top three finalists for the position.

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Pellizzari says she has a deep knowledge of the criminal justice system and credits her 18 years as a lawyer for providing courtroom experience in criminal, civil, federal and appellate law. She notes that she's served as an alternate judge for the same court for which she’s currently running. She also cites her community ties, having served as counsel for those in need through her work as a public attorney for the City of Las Vegas Municipal Court. She said she believes that if elected she could find another way to serve the City of Las Vegas.

Endorsements: Veterans in Politics International, Armed Forces Chamber, Nevada Veterans Association and Third Branch PAC. Major donors: Parviz A. Heshmati LTD of Las Vegas, $5,000; Eddie Nunez of San Bernardino, California, $2,594; John Creighton of Las Vegas, NV, $3,600; Ofelia Markarian of Las Vegas, $2,500; and Philippe Hoerle-Guggenheim of Laguna Beach, California, $2,000. Her most recent contributions and expenses Report to the Nevada secretary of state indicates that she raised $54,977.20 and spent $15,987.13. Roughly 20 percent of her contributions come from 22 individuals with out-of-state addresses.

Pellizzari has served as public attorney for the City of Las Vegas Municipal Court, representing indigent clients.