Judge Kim Wanker steps aside temporarily for cancer treatment in Nye County

Judge Kimberly A. Wanker is stepping away from the Fifth Judicial District Court bench in Nye County for cancer treatment, leaving a small rural court with only one other district judge listed on the county roster. For defendants, victims, families and local attorneys in Pahrump, the immediate concern is calendar movement in Department 1, where hearings, trials and other case settings can back up fast when one judge is out.

Nye County lists only two Fifth Judicial District Court judges: Wanker in Department 1 and Robert W. Lane in Department 2. That means any disruption in Wanker’s schedule affects a bench that has little extra room to absorb missed settings, especially in a district that handles civil, criminal, family law and adult drug court matters. Wanker’s court profile says she has served since 2011, and the county says she was appointed by Gov. Brian Sandoval after the death of longtime District Judge John P. Davis. The county also identifies her as the first rural female district judge in Nevada and says she prefers to be called Kim outside the courtroom.

The practical stakes run through the clerk’s office as much as the courtroom. Nye County says the Fifth Judicial District Court clerk’s office at 1520 E. Basin Ave. #108 in Pahrump is open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with a lunch closure from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. The clerk’s office phone number is 775-751-7040. That is the place attorneys, defendants and self-represented litigants will need to check for hearing dates, filings and any changes to Department 1 calendars.

The district’s limited size has long shaped how cases move through Pahrump. A 2019 Nevada Lawyer article said the Fifth Judicial District then covered Nye and Esmeralda counties and that the reconfiguration cut judges’ time on the road in half, a reminder that even one judge’s absence can ripple across a region where court travel and staffing are already constrained.

Wanker’s long tenure has also made her a familiar figure in local politics and judicial circles. The Nevada Secretary of State’s 2020 general election results show Kimberly A. “Kim” Wanker won the Department 1 race with 20,487 votes, listed at 100.00 percent. Our Nevada Judges, Inc. amplified word of her temporary step back, and Nathan Gent, who is running for the same Department 1 seat, posted that “Our thoughts and prayers are with Judge Wanker right now.”