Campaign trail heats up for Judge Robert Lane

Judge Robert Lane had to correct a reporter who suggested the campaign season was winding down as November’s general mid-term election looms.

Lane, who has served as District Court Judge for the past 14 years, held a recent meet and greet at Draft Picks.

As the incumbent, Lane is the perceived front-runner in the contest.

He suggested that his campaign is just starting to warm up, rather than wind down.

“These are actually the two busiest months because we have all kinds of candidate’s nights and more meet and greets. We held the most recent one at Draft Picks and we had a pretty good turnout. The food was great and we met some people visiting from Australia. I was very pleased to meet everyone who came by.” he said.

During his time on the bench, Lane is no stranger to the election process.

He said campaigning is not as grueling as some may think.

“I have to say, it’s a lot of hard work and it really wears you out especially when you’re getting old like me at 55.” he said with a chuckle. “The fun thing about campaigning — and this is true — you get to go out and meet new people and old friends that you normally don’t see nearly as often when you are not campaigning. You actually make your friendships stronger and get to know new people, and that’s the great thing about campaigning,” he said.

“Usually the questions that I hear pertain to what the plans are for the future of the court as far as modernizing. Occasionally, we get questions about specific cases that I’ve decided on in the past that were kind of controversial. Some of them are over with and I can talk a little and explain them, but some of them are still on appeal, so I can’t get into the facts. Usually I just explain the procedure and process of how it works,” he said.

Lane, a United States Navy Veteran, has more than 22 years of legal experience in both criminal and civil law.

He established Nye County’s Adult and Juvenile Drug Court program in 2002 and 2003 respectively.

His community involvement includes activities with the Pahrump Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club and the Special Olympics.