JUDGE ROBERT H. PERRY

(2005-2011)

The Honorable Robert H. Perry was born on November 13, 1943, in Salem, Oregon, to Mary Neiswender, a single mother. He grew up in Topeka, Kansas, and graduated from Topeka Central High School in 1962.

Mr. Perry enlisted in the Marine Corp after high school and always felt the Marines gave him the right start in his adult life. He was appointed to the Naval Academy from the enlisted ranks of the USMC, and was honorably discharged in 1967.

He received his B.A. in 1968, and his Juris Doctor in 1973, from the University of Kansas. Mr. Perry worked many jobs throughout his life and worked full time during law school.

After law school, Mr. Perry moved to Reno because he fell in love with the area while working at Harrah's in the summer of 1968. His first job was as a criminal investigator for the Washoe County District Attorney's office. Once he passed the bar, he became a deputy district attorney in the same office for two years.

Mr. Perry left the DA's office and for the next twenty-nine years was a successful plaintiff's attorney. He worked for several firms before beginning his own practice. Janet Berry, who became a judge of the Second Judicial District Court in 1996, was a partner with Mr. Perry for ten years.

During his career, he received certificates of recognition from Senator Harry Reid and Representatives Jim Gibbons and Shelley Berkeley. In 2004, Mr. Perry was voted Trial Lawyer of the Year for the State of Nevada by the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association. He was a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the American College of Trial Lawyers among many other organizations. He always wanted to help the "little guy" and was well respected by his peers.

In 2005, Judge Perry was appointed to Department Nine of the Second Judicial District Court by former Governor Kenny Guinn. He was then elected to the court in 2008.

As a judge, Robert Perry was highly regarded for his work ethic, fairness, and pathological preparation. He had both a keen intellect and a dry sense of humor. He treated everyone with kindness, compassion and respect. His two great loves were the law and his family.

Second District Court Judge Patrick Flanagan, a colleague, said "Judge Perry was a good person, with a strong sense of right and wrong, and who deeply cared about everybody who appeared in front of him. He was a fine judge."

In 2011, after a lengthy illness, Robert Perry died at the age of sixty-eight surrounded by his family. He was survived by two children, a son Sam, and a daughter Camille.