Public defender challenges Family Court incumbent in upcoming election

A longtime public defender is challenging the appointed incumbent for the Family Court Department N seat in the upcoming general election.

Chief Deputy Public Defender Kerri Maxey and District Judge Paul Gaudet are both appearing on November’s ballot for the Family Court seat. Gov. Joe Lombardo appointed Gaudet to the bench in March 2023, following the death of Family Court Judge Mathew Harter.

Maxey, 48, graduated from Boyd Law School in 2003 and joined the Clark County public defender’s office in 2005, where she worked representing juvenile clients for about 16 years. She spent about three years as a staff attorney with the Minor Guardianship Advocacy Program at the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada before returning back to work at the public defender’s office in October 2023, now representing adult clients.
If elected, Maxey said she will focus on the “best interest of the children.”

“I have been a champion for children,” she said. “If elected, I would not only be a champion for children, but I would be a champion for our Nevada families, our families that are in crisis going through the court system.”



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