Myron E. Leavitt

Myron E. Leavitt was a native Nevadan, born in Las Vegas on October 27, 1930. A standout athlete at Las Vegas High School, he went on to earn a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno, and briefly worked as a sports editor for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He received his law degree from the University of Utah College of Law in 1956, graduating eighth in his class, and was admitted to the Nevada bar on October 24, 1956.

Justice Leavitt entered private practice in Las Vegas, where he built a legal career spanning some 28 years. Among his notable work as an advocate were cases that compelled the Nevada Legislature to reapportion itself according to population and required the University of Nevada Board of Regents to do the same - efforts that reshaped representation in the state.

Over the decades he devoted much of his life to public service, holding a remarkable range of elected offices, including justice of the peace, Clark County commissioner, Las Vegas city commissioner, and Lieutenant Governor of Nevada from 1979 to 1983. He returned to the bench as a judge of the Eighth Judicial District Court from 1984 to 1998, and in 1999 he was elected to the Supreme Court of Nevada, where he served as a justice until his death on January 9, 2004, at the age of 73.