Michael R. Griffin

Michael R. Griffin was born and raised in Carson City, Nevada, where he played football at Carson High School before going on to play basketball at the University of Nevada. He earned his law degree at the University of San Francisco and served in the U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps. He then joined the state Public Defender's office, beginning a legal career in Nevada that would span nearly five decades and was admitted to the Nevada bar on October 14, 1968.

First elected in 1978, Griffin took office in January 1979 as a District Court Judge in Department 1 of the First Judicial District Court in Carson City. He was re-elected repeatedly and served 28 years on the bench - one of the longest tenures in state history - before retiring in 2007. Among his most notable cases, he presided over the disputed 1998 U.S. Senate election between Harry Reid and John Ensign; after a recount of more than 415,000 votes, the race was decided by 428 votes, and Griffin ruled Reid the victor. After leaving the bench, he took a position with a Reno law firm, in large part to be closer to his grandchildren.

Griffin was known for a practical, common-sense approach to the law and for his lifelong passion for playing guitar. Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease around the time of his retirement, he died at Renown Hospital in Reno at the age of 72. He was survived by his wife, Jill, sons Matt and John, and daughter Gina Solari.