District Judge Jacqueline Bluth Resigns to Pursue Career in Mediation

District Judge Jacqueline Bluth will leave the Clark County bench on Jan. 5 to accept a mediation position at Advanced Resolution Management. She was appointed to the court in 2019 by Gov. Steve Sisolak and has served as one of the judges handling homicide cases.

Bluth, 44, described the decision as difficult. She began her career at the Regional Justice Center as a 25-year-old intern for District Judge Mark Denton and remained in the legal system as a prosecutor before taking the bench. In an interview at her office on Thursday, she said, "I don’t feel like I’m leaving the pursuit of justice. I feel like I’m achieving it now through a different way."

The judge’s resignation was prompted by a meeting with the owner of Advanced Resolution Management. Bluth said she was initially hesitant but agreed to dinner to hear about his passion for the work. She weighed the decision carefully, considering the advice of Jackie Glass, a former judge and mediator who died in August. Glass, who was married to District Attorney Steve Wolfson, was a mentor to Bluth. Bluth recalled Glass saying she was always talking about living your best life. That prompted Bluth to ask herself if she was doing the same.

Family considerations also played a role. Bluth described herself as a workaholic and noted that her children had sacrificed a lot for her career. During a family meeting, her oldest son encouraged her to take the job that would allow for more time together. She said she values the one-on-one contact of mediation and believes people just want to be heard during the process.

Mediation offers a different path for justice compared to traditional litigation. Bluth noted that cases in court can drag on for years, whereas mediation allows for finality. She also emphasized the emotional impact of legal disputes, which is often overlooked alongside financial outcomes.

During her time on the bench, Bluth was popular with attorneys. She received a retention score of 88 percent in the 2025 Judicial Performance Evaluation by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, one of the highest scores for the District Court. She was known for making detailed statements at sentencings to explain her reasoning. In one case, she ordered life without parole for Samuel Howard, a 77-year-old resentenced for a 1980 murder. She noted his trauma and steps toward reform but stated, "I cannot take away the last sliver of justice that the (victim’s) family has."

Bluth said she believes victim families and defendants deserve to know the basis for a judge’s decision. She added, "These are decisions that are making a huge impact on people’s lives and they deserve to know what went on in the person’s head that made that decision."

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection will fill the vacancy left by Bluth. Applications for the position are due Nov. 18.