On Monday, April 14, 2025, the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline publicly reprimanded Gary Fairman, a District Court Judge in the Seventh Judicial District Court, Eureka County. This decision was made in response to multiple violations of the Revised Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct.

The case is entitled “In the Matter of Judge Gary Fairman,” with case number 90465.

The commission’s findings indicate that Judge Fairman admitted to breaching several rules within the Code, particularly Canon 1, Rule 1.1, which mandates compliance with the law, and Rule 1.2, which requires judges to maintain the integrity of the judiciary. Additionally, he violated Canon 2, Rule 2.5(A), which calls for judges to perform their duties competently and diligently.

The violations stemmed from a child custody case, Allen v. Frederickson, where Judge Fairman presided over a contempt hearing on February 21, 2023. Following the hearing, he instructed the defendant’s attorney to prepare a proposed order, which was never completed. By July 28, 2023, Fairman was aware that the order had still not been prepared and that the attorney was unresponsive to communications from both the court and the involved parties.

Despite this knowledge, Judge Fairman did not issue the order until April 8, 2024, which was over thirteen months after the initial hearing. The delay reportedly caused significant distress for the mother involved in the custody dispute, who had terminated her attorney due to the lack of action.

In the stipulation reached between Judge Fairman and the commission, he waived his right to contest the allegations in a formal hearing. The commission accepted his waiver and agreed to the immediate effect of the public reprimand. Furthermore, Judge Fairman consented to appear before the commission if required to discuss the reprimand in more detail.

The commission emphasized that this reprimand will be publicly available, and the order will be filed with the Clerk of the Nevada Supreme Court. The disciplinary action was justified under several statutes, including Article 6, Section 21(1) of the Nevada Constitution, and various Nevada Revised Statutes.

This reprimand serves as a reminder of the expectations placed on judicial figures to act in accordance with established ethical guidelines.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.