Judge Adams graduated, with distinction, from the University of Arizona College of Law in 1974. On July 4, 1989, he was appointed by the governor to succeed Judge James J. Guinan as presiding judge in Department Six of the Second Judicial District Court. He has been elected three times without opposition. He has consistently received among the highest retention ratings and judicial performance evaluations by the Washoe County Bar Association in biennial surveys since 1994.

Judge Adams has been a faculty member of the National Judicial College for over fifteen years. He conducts national and international legal and judicial training on the subjects of judicial discretion, evidence, trial tactics, ethical issues, complex case management and judicial settlement techniques.

As chief judge, Judge Adams initiated the Washoe County Drug Court, the Court Services program and the Washoe County Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, which he chaired from 1993 to 2002. He is chair of the Bench Bar Committee and a member of the Washoe County Law Library Board, Nevada Supreme Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, Judicial Assessment Commission and a former member of the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline. He is a Master of the Bruce R. Thompson Inn of the American Inns of Court.

Judge Adams is a member of the University of Nevada, Reno, College of Liberal Arts Advisory Council, the Reno Diocese Review Board of the Roman Catholic Church and the Board of Directors of the Nevada Irish Mexican Alliance.

He is the founding presiding judge of the Washoe County Business Court. Judge Adams is Editor in Chief of the Nevada Civil Practice Manual and Forms (second and third editions) published by the Lexis Publishing Company.

Judge Denton was appointed on August 19, 1998 to fill a vacancy left on the District Court bench by his resigning predecessor and was sworn in on September 4, 1998. He was then retained in the general election of November 3, 1998 to complete the remaining four years of his predecessor’s term. He filed for re-election in 2002 and was unopposed for a six-year term commencing in January, 2003.

Judge Denton was born in Elko, Nevada and raised in Boulder City, Nevada where he graduated from high school. He then attended the University of Nevada, Reno (with a year in Paris, France through an affiliate of UNR), followed by attendance at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. where he obtained his J.D. in May of 1976. After being commissioned a second lieutenant and fulfilling his U.S. Army R.O.T.C. active duty obligation as a first lieutenant, he practiced law for 21 years before assuming the District Court bench, achieving the highly-esteemed "AV" rating with Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory and a firm listing in that publication’s Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers in the categories of Civil Trial Practice, General Practice, and Probate, Trusts and Estate Planning.

COURTS:
Nevada Supreme Court, 1976
U.S. District Court, Nevada, 1976
U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1977
District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 1980

POSITIONS:

United States Army Reserve, 1973-1989 (Captain, JAG)
Alternate Juvenile Court Referee, 1980-1998
Associate Municipal Judge, Boulder City, 1991-1998
Arbitrator, Court Annexed Arbitration Program 8th Judicial District Court, 1992-1998
Nevada Supreme Court Settlement Judge, 1997-1998
"Master," Nevada American Inn of Court; President, 1999-2000
Commissioner, Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission, 2000- present

After graduating from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Patrick attended law school at California Western School of Law in San Diego, California. Upon graduation, Patrick began working in the Washoe County Public Defender's Office. He rose to Chief Appellate Deputy practicing exclusively before the Nevada Supreme Court. In 1983 he became an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of Nevada. In 1987, he appeared before the United States Supreme Court in a landmark death penalty case. In 1988, he was lead counsel in one of the nation's largest criminal trials.

In 1989, Patrick went into private practice, joining a large law firm as a trial and appellate lawyer appearing in state and federal courts. In 1998, he joined the large law firm of Hale Lane where he continued an active trial and appellate practice in civil, criminal and administrative law. Patrick was elected Chair of the Federal Bar Association’s Litigation Section. In 1996, he was elected to the Board of Bar Governors of the State Bar of Nevada. In 1999, he was elected President of the Washoe County Bar Association. In June 2003, Patrick was elected President of the State Bar of Nevada.

He was appointed the first Chair of the Access to Justice Committee. He served as President of the Board of Washoe Legal Services for many years. Throughout his career, he has worked to encourage pro bono work by lawyers, law firms and judges. He has served on Federal and State Court Committees to improve judicial administration.

Patrick has been an active member of Our Lady of Snows Catholic church serving as School Board President, Parish Council President, a Scout leader and in the catechism and confirmation programs.

Patrick was President of the Reno Tennis Club. He enjoyed skiing, fencing and martial arts. On September 13, 2001, Patrick was in a bicycle accident which left him paralyzed as a quadriplegic. Upon his release from the hospital, Patrick went back into the gym and began training. In June 2003, while in his wheelchair before 5,000 people in the Santa Clara University Gym, Patrick tested and was awarded his 3rd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do.

In 2006, Patrick was elected District Court Judge in Department 7. He was reelected in 2008 without any opposition. He has been highly rated in the Washoe County Bar Association Judicial Survey. He continues to work hard to fulfill his commitment to public service and judicial leadership to the citizens of Washoe County and the State of Nevada.

Elizabeth Gonzalez is the Presiding Judge of the Civil Division of District Court, handling business, civil and criminal cases.  She was appointed to the district court in July 2004. Prior to taking the bench she practiced predominantly in complex civil litigation that included business, mass tort, and construction defect litigation.  From 1986 to 1998 she was employed with the law firm of Beckley, Singleton, Jemison & List where she focused on these areas of litigation and served as the firm's president from 1997 to 1998.  From 1998 until taking the bench she operated her own firm.

Judge Gonzalez currently is the secretary of the American College of Business Court Judges, a member of the Board of Directors of the Clark County Bar Association, and the Judicial Council of the State of Nevada. She previously served on the Supreme Court Jury Improvement Commission and the State of Nevada Ethics Commission.

Ms. Gonzalez serves on the Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission.  She is the former President of the Board of Directors of Clark County Legal Services and a former member of the Eighth Judicial District Bench Bar Committee on Pro Bono.  She has long been dedicated to the provision of legal services to all members of the community.  Ms. Gonzalez was first recognized for her support of pro bono by the Clark County Pro Bono Project in 1992 and in 2002 was selected Attorney of the year by the State Bar of Nevada Access to Justice Committee.  She served on the Clark County Legal Services Board which now coordinates the provision of pro bono services for all of Clark County for over ten years.

Ms. Gonzalez attained a B.A. in History, with honors, from the University of Florida in May of 1982 and received her law degree from the University of Florida College of law in 1985.  She was admitted to the State Bar of Nevada in 1985. 

Since her admission to the Bar, Ms. Gonzalez has served on many bar committees, including service as the Regional Chair for the State Bar of Nevada Fee Dispute Committee which assisted clients in resolving payment disputes with their attorneys.  In addition, Ms. Gonzalez served as a member of the State Bar of Nevada's Functional Equivalency Committee which addresses issues related to the admission of lawyers to the Nevada State Bar who had not attended schools accredited by the American Bar Association.   She also serves as a Master Emeritus of the Nevada American Inn of Court which has as its purpose the enhancement of Nevada lawyer’s practical skills, professional awareness and ethical responsibility.

Ms. Gonzalez has given numerous seminars on business and construction defect litigation including the subjects of evidence, civil discovery, insurance issues, dispute resolution and construction defect issues.  She is the author of AThird Party Practice, which has been published in several editions of the Nevada Civil Practice Manual.