December 2006

Chief Justice Robert E. Rose: A Life of Service to Nevada
by Melinda Catren, Staff, Nevada Lawyer

When 2006 draws to a close, the Supreme Court of Nevada will bid farewell to an innovative reformer, an advocate for the underdog, a consummate professional and a respected mentor.  Following a career dedicated to public service here in Nevada, Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert E. Rose is retiring from the bench.  While his presence will be missed, that presence will also definitely continue to be felt by those whose lives he touched and by a judicial system which many say was shaped largely by Rose’s actions.

Since moving to Nevada in the early 1960s, Rose has served the state of Nevada in all three branches of government.  He has been a president of the state senate, Nevada’s lieutenant governor and a chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nevada.  After graduating from the New York University School of Law, he wasted no time in moving to Reno, where he practiced law until stepping into the Washoe County district attorney seat in 1970.  In 1974 he won the race for lieutenant governor and moved to Las Vegas. 

Those who know Rose will tell you that he has always put integrity and professionalism first, and that doing what is right has always come before any self-serving interests.  In 1977, then-Lieutenant Governor Rose was presiding as state Senate president when the Equal Rights Amendment was up for passage.  He took a stand on that issue and cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the issue. 

Second Judicial District Court Judge Bridget Robb Peck (who met Rose when he was campaigning and was still in school when the vote came up), says it was an issue she remembers following with interest.  “It’s something I have never forgotten,” she says.  “For him to step up and make that sort of vote was very important to me – his willingness to go out on a ledge and make a stand for something he believes in.  I appreciate that.”  In spite of widespread praise from some quarters, the controversial vote (later overturned in the Assembly) certainly had a negative impact on Rose’s bid for Nevada’s governorship.  In 1978 he lost the race to his Republican opponent, Robert List.  But Rose’s dedication to public service did not end with the 1978 defeat.  Attorney Harvey Whitmore puts it best when he says, “Bob’s loss for the governorship was actually Nevada’s gain, because of the things he went on to do in Nevada’s courts.”

In a lifetime of achievement, perhaps Rose’s largest legacy to the state is the impact he has had on its judiciary.  When Rose took the bench, Nevada’s justice system was one perceived by many to be a system in turmoil.  Justice A. William Maupin, who has worked alongside Rose for many years, describes the time as one of strong conflict between the bench and the court.  Rose and several others, including Justice Cliff Young and Justice Miriam Shearing, identified the problem and set out to solve it.  Their objective was to create a uniform system with the Supreme Court at its head.  Those efforts met with opposition from the lower courts at the time, but ultimately resulted in a much more consistent and efficient system.  In addition, Rose created the jury improvement commission and made certain training, such as drug awareness and domestic violence awareness, mandatory for Nevada judges.  Maupin credits Rose with setting the standard for Nevada’s lawyers.  “Our bar is as good as it’s ever been, largely because of him,” he says.  “And the bench in this state is as good as it’s ever been because of his vision.”  Attorney David Wasick of Beckley Singleton, Chtd. uses similar words when describing Rose’s work on the bench. “He cared about the results and put in the time and the effort to understand.  So the opinion that came out of the Nevada Supreme Court was a good one and offered guidance to future litigants and lawyers.”

In all aspects of his service to the state, Rose has ceaselessly striven to bring the rights of the disadvantaged to the forefront and to give a voice to the voiceless.  Maupin states that Rose fashioned a lot of very important precedents in civil cases, precedents, he says “that have provided remedies to a lot of people that previously wouldn’t have had a remedy.”  Robb Peck agrees, citing the ERA vote and also Rose’s work as an advocate for the victims of domestic violence.  “He has been a champion for [those] victims in Nevada.”  Others who have worked closely with Rose say that aspect of his personality has never wavered. Reno attorney Calvin R.X. Dunlap, who worked under Rose when he held the district attorney’s position in the early 1970s, agrees with the sentiment.  “I’ve always seen him as someone who stood up and spoke out for the little guy,” Dunlap affirms.  “He was always a voice for the people.”  Frankie Sue Del Papa, former Attorney General, says, “In tough cases he was the one you could always count on to do the right thing.  He stood up for justice.  He stood up for Nevada.”

“Professionalism has always been of great concern to Justice Rose and he leads by example,” Robb Peck tells us.  But throughout Rose’s professional life, he has not led by example alone.  He has actively directed the courses of many of the lives he has touched, both personally and professionally.  When discussing Rose with those who have known him and worked alongside him, the word “mentor” comes up often, almost as often as the word “professionalism.”  Maupin, who came to the Supreme Court in 1997, calls working with Rose one of the greatest professional and personal experiences of his life.  “He made me feel welcome, made me feel like an equal and was a very good mentor,” he says.  Robb Peck would not disagree.  “Throughout my career, he has always been there for me,” she says.  “He took an interest in my career and has done so for many others.” 

Wasick was just out of law school, clerking and working as legal staff counsel, when he first met Rose.  He too calls Rose a “mentor and teacher,” saying that Rose “always looked out for his law clerks and took the time needed to show them how the law worked and to teach them the importance of the product.”  Dunlap says, “He allowed people to do what they were capable of and push their limits.  I appreciated the opportunity to learn and grow under Bob Rose.”  Del Papa concurs.  “Bob has some natural tendencies to be a teacher and a mentor,” she says.  “He took the time to do it and did it in a gracious manner.”

Maupin even credits Rose with shaping the way he deals with cases, especially criminal cases.  “He listens.  He responds.  He contributes.  He takes responsibility,” he states with emotion.  “In the final analysis, he creates.”

For what he has created and for the legacy he leaves behind, the State Bar of Nevada and its members should be appreciative.  “He served Nevada tirelessly and sometimes thanklessly all of his professional life,” says longtime friend and associate Judge David Hagen, (ret).  Del Papa adds, “Bob’s life has been given to public service and because of that I think all of us in Nevada are better off.”

The State Bar of Nevada, on behalf of its members, thanks Chief Justice Robert Rose.  We wish him and his wife Jolene Rose all the very best on his impending retirement from the Supreme Court of Nevada.