10th Nevada Attorney General
Term: December 21, 1896 - January 2,
1899
Biography
James R. Judge, born in Altoona, Huntington County, Pennsylvania, on
September 9, 1850, received an education in engineering at St. Francis College
Brooklyn Heights, New York. He came to Nevada in 1877 to work for a survey
party with the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. In 1879, after studying law
under Colonel A.C. Ellis and Cameron King, he gained admittance to the NV State
Bar on April 5, 1881[1],
and began his professional legal career in Carson City, Nevada.
On December 21, 1896, Nevada Governor Reinhold Sadler appointed Judge
as Nevada’s tenth Attorney General because Judge’s immediate predecessor, Robert
M. Beatty, died while in office.
After serving both as the Attorney General and later, Lieutenant
Governor, Judge left public office in 1903 and remained in private practice
until 1911, at which time, Attorney General Cleveland Baker appointed Judge as a
Nevada Deputy Attorney General.
Election of 1898
After serving almost three years as the Attorney General, Judge decided
to run for the office of Lieutenant Governor. In a four-person race, and
of the 9,672 votes cast, Judge received 38% of the votes, beating his closest
rival only by 465 votes to win the election.
Office Administration and Duties
Judge had no deputies or other support staff according to the Nevada
Attorney General’s budget for the 1897–1899 state biennial fiscal period:
1897–1899 Budget
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$4,000
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$4,000
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Attorney General’s Salary
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Office expenses came from an appropriation “[f]or a current
expense appropriation, to defray the telegraphic, postage, and
contingent expenses of the several state officers, Supreme Court, and
State Library, to be expended under the direction of the Lieutenant
Governor, State Controller, and Secretary of State, $4,000”
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The 1897 Nevada State Legislature added additional duties for the
Attorney General to perform:
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Nevada Attorney General is to examine the articles of
incorporation and by-laws of Mutual Fire Insurance Companies and certify
compliance with Nevada State Law to the Nevada State Controller (Statutes of
Nevada, 1897, Chapter XXXVIL, page 38).
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Nevada Attorney General is to examine the Articles of
Incorporation of those corporations doing business in Nevada as Sureties on
Bonds and certify compliance with Nevada State Law to the Nevada Secretary
of State (Statutes of Nevada, 1897, Chapter L, pages 62–63).
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Nevada Attorney General–in those actions concerning the estates of
deceased persons–is to: (1) take action in the District Court if it is
discovered or believed that the estate is escheatable, (2) inform the
District Court of information that exists to support the appointment of a
receiver, (3) receive five-percent of the estate’s property for the State of
Nevada if the estate’s property is found to be escheatable. (Statutes
of Nevada, 1897, Chapter CVL, pages (162–164).
[1] Nevada Reports, Number 22, p. 12.