Clark County's Family Court Department P race has turned into more of a character exam than a policy debate. Incumbent Mary Perry, challenger Jennifer Isso and fellow candidate Kurt Smith head into the June primary carrying discipline records that have dominated local legal chatter. Perry faces a public censure for conduct on the bench, Isso was hit with a Nevada Supreme Court disciplinary order in April, and Smith has a 2015 contempt case that left him in custody overnight. Voters and local lawyers say those records could prove decisive in a contest that often turns as much on temperament as on knowledge of the law.
Perry's censure and appellate record
Mary Perry agreed in mid-2024 to a consent-to-censure after the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline concluded she had taken a "needlessly disrespectful tone" in multiple hearings and required remedial training and a stayed short suspension, according to a certified order filed with the Supreme Court. Nevada Supreme Court records detail the commission's findings and the terms of the consent order. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the state Supreme Court found error in 11 of 15 of Perry's reviewed cases, a 73.3 percent reversal rate that stood out among area judges. Las Vegas Review-Journal coverage noted that context is important when interpreting those statistics.
Isso's disciplinary order
On April 17, 2026 the Nevada Supreme Court approved a conditional-admission agreement in the disciplinary proceeding against attorney Jennifer Isso, imposing a six-month-and-one-day suspension that was stayed for 18 months. FindLaw publishes the court's order, which requires Isso to select a law-practice mentor, complete additional ethics-focused CLE, participate in counseling with quarterly reports to bar counsel and pay the costs of the proceedings. Because the suspension was stayed, Isso remains eligible to practice while she complies with those conditions, a distinction that has allowed her to stay in the judgeship race.
Smith's past and campaign claims
Henderson attorney Kurt Smith, another Department P candidate, has a decade-old episode on his record: reporting shows he was held in contempt in 2015 after trying to avoid jury duty and spent roughly 24 hours in custody. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Smith says he has represented about 8,000 clients and conducted roughly 32,000 free consultations during nearly two decades practicing family law. His campaign leans on that volume of experience as proof of courtroom chops while opponents point to the disciplinary headlines as reasons to scrutinize all candidates more closely. Las Vegas Review-Journal reporting has detailed the competing records and the candidates' responses.
What voters should know
Nevada election law allows a candidate who wins a majority in the primary to be elected outright; if no one clears 50 percent, the two top vote-getters advance to the general election. Nevada Legislature statutes make the primary effectively decisive in many contested, nonpartisan judicial races. That procedural reality means discipline records, appellate reversals and bar-evaluation results can determine who will preside over sensitive custody and divorce cases in Clark County.
Legal and political stakes
The practical difference between a public censure and a stayed suspension matters: censure is a formal rebuke that remains part of a judge's public record, while a stayed suspension lets an attorney keep working if they meet court-ordered requirements. Those distinctions help explain why Isso can continue to campaign and why Perry's disciplinary history, paired with a retention score under 50 percent in a recent performance evaluation, has become a focal point for critics and local bar groups. Our Nevada Judges compiles the public filings and links to the underlying documents, underscoring how those records are likely to shape voters' choices this June.
