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Council names Matthew Walker interim municipal court judge; public and advocates pressed for more transparent selection process
Summary
The council appointed Matthew Walker to fill a municipal court vacancy and received public comments urging clearer written policies and more public participation in judicial selection.
The Las Vegas City Council on Feb. 5 appointed Matthew Walker as interim municipal court judge for Department 1 and set his salary at $214,849 to be paid from the general fund.
The appointment followed a city-led recruitment after Judge Cynthia Leung retired on Jan. 13, 2025. Human Resources Director Vince Zamora summarized the process: the position opened Dec. 9 and closed Dec. 16, 2024; the city received 15 applications, 11 qualified and one candidate withdrew. An initial interview panel narrowed the list to three finalists'Madeleine Cole, Amanda Palazzari, and Matthew Walker'who were then interviewed by a five-member council panel on Jan. 30. Zamora reported the ranking from those council interviews as Matthew Walker first, Amanda Palazzari second and Madeline Cole third.
Councilwoman Diaz moved to appoint Walker, saying she selected him for experience and for having started an effective PST program she said demonstrated creativity and measurable results. "I'm going to put the person that I feel is the strongest on day one to take Chief Leung's seat... that individual for me is Matt Walker who set up the PST program," Diaz said.
Walker, addressing the council after the vote, said he was "incredibly humbled and honored to be selected" and cited a commitment to integrity and to the municipal court's public-facing role.
Public comments earlier in the meeting had called for more transparent written policies for judicial selection. Stephanie Phillips, political director for Veterans in Politics, urged a formalized selection procedure that would include public members on a selection panel, pre-posting applicant lists and biographies, a public comment period during interviews, and an email address for letters to be forwarded to the selection panel. Steve Samson of Veterans and Politics in Nevada reiterated concerns about transparency, noting he monitored prior meetings where application lists and panel membership were not posted and asking that interviews be live-streamed and applicants be publicly posted.
Zamora told the council interviews were conducted in two separate rooms to comply with the open-meetings law and that the council was directed to vet the finalists after the initial panel screening.
Ending: The council's vote installed Matthew Walker as interim municipal court judge; members of the public urged the city to adopt clearer, written procedures for future judicial selection processes to increase transparency and public participation.
