CLARK COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM
Petitioner:
Kevin Schiller, County Manager
Recommendation:
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Ratify the appointment of Nancy Lemcke as Clark County Public Defender. (For possible action)
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FISCAL IMPACT:
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N/A
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BACKGROUND:
Ms. Nancy Lemcke was selected to fill the open position of Clark County Public Defender effective May 13, 2024. Ms. Lemcke is a 25-year veteran of the Clark County Public Defender’s office and a current attorney with the Children’s Attorneys Project at the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada. Ms. Lemcke has tried numerous felony cases to verdict, including both capital and non-capital homicide cases, and has also litigated and argued multiple cases before the Nevada Supreme Court.Ms. Lemcke is death penalty qualified pursuant to Nevada Supreme Court Rule 250; her criminal defense experience includes practice in Las Vegas Justice Court, the Eighth Judicial District Court of Nevada, the Nevada Court of Appeals, the Nevada Supreme Court, and Clark County Juvenile Delinquency Court, as well as the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Ms. Lemcke has also served as a member of the Board of Directors for Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice; as a member of the Committee to Draft Pattern Criminal Jury Instructions for Nevada; and as the Nevada State Bar Representative to the Clark County Justice of the Peace Judicial Selection Committee. She has lectured at UNLV on various topics relating to criminal justice and has conducted numerous trial advocacy seminars on behalf of legal organizations such as the Clark County Bar Association. She has also served as a judge for the Nevada Center for Civic Engagement’s “We the People” constitutional law competition for Nevada high school students. Ms. Lemcke was awarded the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award by Nevada Attorney Attorneys for Criminal Justice; named 2019 Defender of the Year by the Clark County Public Defender; and honored with a 2020 Legal Excellence Award by Vegas Legal magazine.Ms. Lemcke currently represents abused and neglected children in the juvenile dependency system and serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law.Pursuant to Clark County Code Chapter 2.40.100, I am respectfully requesting that the Board ratify this appointment.