Justice Douglas W. Herndon
The Nevada Judiciary has announced leadership transitions as Justice Douglas W. Herndon officially begins his two-year term as chief justice of the Nevada Supreme Court, succeeding Justice Elissa F. Cadish; and Judge Bonnie A. Bulla assumes her appointed role as chief judge of the Nevada Court of Appeals for a four-year term.
As chief justice, Herndon will step into the role of administrative head of the Nevada Judiciary and the official public voice of the Nevada Supreme Court.
Herndon has served on the Nevada Supreme Court since 2020. Before his tenure on the Supreme Court, he served as a District Court judge in the Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County for 15 years, where he presided over civil and criminal cases and was the Chief Judge of the court’s Criminal Division and Homicide Case Team.
During his 15 years on the District Court bench, Herndon earned multiple top ratings, including the highest performance rating among District Court judges in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's 2019 judicial evaluation.
He has received numerous accolades, such as the Light and Wisdom Diamond Award for Judicial Excellence in 2019, the Community Service Award from The Rape Crisis Center in 2010, the Gary Collie Award from the Community Coalition for Victim's Rights in 2005 and the Man of the Year honor from Family and Child Treatment of Southern Nevada in 2003.
As chief judge of the Nevada Court of Appeals, Bulla succeeds Judge Michael P. Gibbons. Bulla was appointed to the Nevada Court of Appeals in 2019 by Gov. Steve Sisolak, previously serving as discovery commissioner for the Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County for more than a decade.
Bulla will oversee the administrative functions of the Court of Appeals and provide leadership to ensure timely and fair resolution of appeals.
Judge Bonnie A. Bulla
Over the course of her 37-year legal career, Bulla has been the president of the Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys, and of the Howard D. McKibben Chapter of the American Inns of Court.
She also held the offices of clerk and speaker of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. She served as a member of the Nevada Supreme Court Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure Committee, which completed a major revision of the rules in 2018.
She recently served on the commission to revise the Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure, which became effective August 2024.
In 2018, she had the distinction of receiving the Clark County Law Foundation’s Liberty Bell Award.
Cadish will remain on the Nevada Supreme Court as she begins a new six-year term as Justice. Gibbons will also continue to serve on the Nevada Court of Appeals.
For information, visit https://nvcourts.gov/supreme.