Attorney Kristine Brewer, who came in first in June in the primary race for Clark County Family Court Department S, is not responding to questions about the Nevada Judicial Selection Commission subsequently passing on appointing her, the sole applicant, to the seat.
Brewer garnered just under 48% of the vote in the three-way primary, with Hearing Master Randall Forman coming in second with 39%.A month later, Judge Vincent Ochoa announced he was retiring early, creating an immediate vacancy in Department S.
The Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection announced in late July it was declining her application, leaving the seat vacant until voters decide in November.
“Following its consideration of the applicant, the Commission declined to forward the candidate to Governor Joe Lombardo for appointment,” says a statement posted in July on the commission’s website.
The move is unusual, as the governor routinely appoints candidates to the bench who are on the ballot at the time of their appointment. In June 2024, Lombardo appointed Tina Talim to the bench. She was elected to the post in November.
The Nevada Constitution requires that the governor, presented with recommendations from the commission, fill a judicial vacancy within 30 days. However, the commission is not required to submit recommendations in the event there are no suitable applicants.
It’s unknown why the panel declined to appoint Brewer.
Federal bankruptcy court records indicate Brewer and her husband, Robert Blau, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in November of 2025, citing assets ranging from $50,000 to $100,000, and liabilities between $100,000 and $500,000.
Brewer, who spoke with the Current before the primary election, has not responded since. Her campaign consultant, Steve Sanson of Veterans in Politics, also did not respond to requests for comment.
Forman says he considered applying for the appointment but decided against it, knowing that if he won but lost the election, he’d have to reapply as a hearing master.
“That’s a pretty big risk to me,” he told the Current. “I like having a job, so I decided not to put in for that appointment.”
Department S hears divorce and child custody cases.
Forman, who earned his law degree from UNLV’s Boyd Law School, spent 15 years in private practice, and has been a hearing master for five years, hearing juvenile delinquency cases and issuing domestic violence protective orders.
This is Forman’s second run for the bench. He lost in the primary race for Dept. Z in 2020.
He is endorsed by Culinary Local 226, SEIU Nevada, the Southern Nevada Building Trades Union, Laborers Local 870 and other labor organizations.
As of July, he’d raised just under $19,000 and had $5,000 in the bank.
Brewer received her law degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. She currently works for Leavitt Family Law Group. She says she’s practiced almost exclusively in family law since 2004.
This is her third run for Family Court. She lost in the 2014 primary, and in a 2022 special election. In addition to her 2026 application for appointment to the bench, she applied unsuccessfully in 2023.
Brewer’s website lists endorsements from half a dozen individuals, including Nevada System of Higher Education Regent Patrick Boylan, who is known for making anti-transgender remarks.
According to Our Nevada Judges, a website that tracks judges and judicial candidates, Brewer is also endorsed by Veterans in Politics, which is run by her campaign consultant Sanson.
As of July, Brewer had raised roughly $19,000, including a personal loan of $11,000, and spent $24,000.
댓글 0
첫 댓글을 남겨 보세요.
로그인 후 댓글을 남길 수 있어요.