A Las Vegas Municipal Court seat that was filled by appointment just last year is now headed to a tight November general election, with incumbent Judge Matthew Walker defending his Department 1 bench against challenger Amanda Pellizzari. Walker and Pellizzari will face voters on November 3, and whoever wins will serve only a shortened two-year term ending in 2028, rather than the standard six-year municipal judicial term.
In early 2025, the Las Vegas City Council appointed Walker to the vacant Department 1 seat following Judge Cynthia Leung's retirement, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which also reported that the abbreviated term stems from Walker completing Leung's unexpired time on the bench. Walker has served on the bench since February 2025.
Neither candidate managed to clear the field outright in June's primary. Pellizzari took 36 percent of nearly 68,000 votes, Walker followed close behind at 33.3 percent, and Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada attorney Rae Canady collected 30.7 percent — fewer than 6 percentage points separating all three. Canady's share amounted to roughly 20,000 votes.
A Prosecutor's Record on the Bench
Walker has built his candidacy around 15-plus years as a prosecutor for the Las Vegas City Attorney's Office, a run that began in 2008 after he graduated from the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law in 2007. He has touted endorsements from law enforcement agencies and says his approach on the bench is tough but fair, built on accountability paired with second chances. Judges, he has said, carry a responsibility to keep the community safe while making sure justice is served.
The Las Vegas Municipal Court's Veterans Treatment Court sits alongside a broader roster of therapeutic courts the Las Vegas Municipal Court manages, including DUI Court, Fresh Start Court, HOPE Court, Mental Health Court, Women in Need (WIN) Court and Youth Offender Court, per the Nevada Judiciary's Administrative Office of the Courts.
Walker's bid also leans on an independent metric: in the Review-Journal's 2025 Judicial Performance Evaluation, Clark County attorneys rated 101 judges across the valley, and Walker drew a 94.3 percent retention score from 35 respondents — the seventh-highest mark valleywide and the highest among sitting municipal court judges. Retention scores reflect the share of attorneys who said a judge should be kept on the bench.
A Defense Attorney's Pitch for Balance
Pellizzari, a 2008 graduate of UNLV's William S. Boyd School of Law, has worked as a criminal lawyer ever since and opened the Law Office of Amanda Pellizzari, LLC in 2020. She currently serves as the designated public attorney for Las Vegas Municipal Court Department 5. Her resume also includes service as an alternate judge for the Las Vegas Municipal Court, plus work as defense counsel for both the court's Veterans Treatment Court and Youth Offender Court programs, according to a candidate questionnaire filed with the City of Las Vegas.
Her campaign manager, Tom Letizia, has framed that background as the core contrast with Walker, saying Pellizzari would treat every person entering her courtroom fairly, hear them fully and hold them to the same standard. The pitch leans on her years representing defendants rather than prosecuting them, an angle her campaign argues brings a different kind of courtroom temperament to the bench.
What's at Stake for the Las Vegas Municipal Court
Hoodline has covered the court's diversion push and a recent misdemeanor DUI sentencing handed down from its bench.
The candidates are listed as nonpartisan, and neither Walker nor Pellizzari carries a party label on the ballot. Early voting for the November 3 election begins October 17, giving the two candidates roughly two weeks to make their closing case to the general electorate before the shortened two-year term is decided.
