The Law Related Education (LRE) Department of the State Bar of Nevada is asking attorneys to volunteer to speak to students in their classrooms in honor of Law Day, which takes place on Friday, April 27. Sixty schools statewide are hoping Nevada attorneys will visit their second- through 12th-graders' classrooms.

This year's ABA Law Day theme is "No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom." On April 26 Law Day Live will feature a live video conference hosted by Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice Nancy Saitta. Students from Winnemucca, Reno and North Las Vegas will participate.

If you would like to visit a school in your area, please contact LRE Coordinator Kathleen Dickinson at kathleend@nvbar.org or (702) 317-1408. For more information on this year's Law Day, please visit the Law Day Website.

The Commission on Judicial Selection has begun the process to fill a permanent member vacancy. The term of the appointment will expire December 31, 2012. Article 6, Section 20, of the Constitution of the State of Nevada, calls for the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Nevada to appoint members to the Commission on Judicial Selection.

For this appointment applicants must not reside in either Clark County or Washoe County. Applicants for the Commission on Judicial Selection must state their political party affiliation. The Board of Governors will consider applications at its April 11, 2012 meeting.

Interested applicants should complete an online application form. All applications must be received by noon on April 6, 2012.

The United States District Court for the District of Nevada announces that, after 25 years of dedicated service to the court, United States Magistrate Judge Robert J. Johnston will be retiring from his position as a United States Magistrate Judge effective December 31, 2012.

The  application for the position of United States Magistrate Judge to fill the vacancy created when Magistrate Judge Johnston retires is available on the court's website. Applications are due by May 1, 2012.

The Clerk of the United States District Court, District of Nevada is accepting applications for the appointments of new Federal Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel attorneys for the unofficial southern division.

Applicants must be members in good standing of the bar of the Federal Court and must have demonstrated experience in, and knowledge of, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. They must also have demonstrated an interest in providing criminal defense services and a reputation for competent and vigorous representation.

Attorneys interested in the appointment must submit applications to Lance S. Wilson, District Court Executive, by July 1, 2012. Attorneys applying for the Appeal Panel must also submit a writing sample.

Applications are available on  the court's website or at the intake counter of the clerk's office in Las Vegas. Appointments for the new panel will be effective October 1, 2012.

National Judicial College (NJC) is pleased to announce publication of the "Mental Competency - Best Practices Model" on a website specially designed for the project.

The purpose of the project is to present a body of practices deemed to be the most effective and efficient for handling mental competency issues in the criminal justice and mental health systems. The model was devised for judges, attorneys, mental health practitioners and other professionals who handle cases involving the issue of competency to proceed.

In addition to the model, the website has related resources, including videos of mock competency hearings and links to articles, books, studies, statutes, cases and other helpful information in the mental competency area. In the coming months, the NJC will also be presenting a series of free webinars.

For further information, or to be notified when the series of webinars will be presented, we invite you to visit the website or contact Daphne A. Burns, Esq., at (916) 676-9876 or burns@judges.org.