Assembly Bill No. 435 passed the Nevada Assembly on April 10 with slight wording modification to begin the realignment of judicial districts.

Mineral County will no longer be in the Fifth Judicial District effective July 1 due to this bill. Mineral will join Pershing and Lander counties in the newly formed Eleventh Judicial District.

Judges Robert Lane and Kimberley Wanker will still remain judges within the Fifth District, but due to increasing caseloads within Nye County, Mineral County will be serviced by Honorable Jim C. Shirley, who at this time is the sitting judge of the Sixth Judicial District which includes Lander, Humboldt and Pershing counties.

One change to be added to the original bill was Section 3.5 which states, “The Sixth and Eleventh Judicial District Courts have concurrent jurisdiction over all matters arising from or relating to the administration of the Humboldt River Decree. The venue for any case or proceeding arising from or relating to the Humboldt River Decree must be determined on an alternating basis between the Sixth and Eleventh judicial District Courts.”

Shirley replaced Judge Richard Wagner who retired from the district judge position. Wagner was raised in Hawthorne.