Judge Scott Pearson was elected to his current position on the bench in November of 2010. During his tenure Judge Pearson has championed many improvements designed to serve the community in a just manner by increasing access to justice, efficiency and accountability in the courts and providing a pathway to success for the court participants. Within months of taking the bench he was presiding over the largest misdemeanor treatment court in the state. In 2013 Judge Pearson created the first Community Court in Nevada which provides a diversion program allowing qualifying participants to have their case dismissed and sealed after completing a rehabilitation program. Judge Pearson has also created special court dockets to help younger members of our community engaged in the sex trades and those addicted to heroin as well as DUI and Domestic Battery programs. In 2015 he was part of the Life Saver’s award winning team that brought the Sober 24 program to the County and with it a new level of structure and support for those most in need. In 2015 Judge Pearson was also named Politician of the Year by the Human Services Network for his humanitarian programs in the community. Since taking the bench, Judge Pearson has also received one of the highest performance and retention scores in the biannual judicial rating survey conducted by the Washoe County Bar Association.
Judge Pearson has been elected or appointed to various leadership roles in the judiciary. He currently serves as a Regional Judicial Outreach Liaison with the American Bar Association Judicial Division, as well as Chairman of the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Committee of the American Judges Association where he is also a member of the board of governors and vice-president of the American Judges Foundation. Judge Pearson is faculty at the National Judicial College, a regular speaker at the Nevada judicial education conferences and served as a presiding judge at the National Trial Academy. He has also been elected or appointed by his peers in Nevada to the following statewide committees: Standing Committee on Judicial Ethics, Nevada Judicial Council, Evidence Based Pretrial Release Committee, Specialty Court Funding Committee, Language Access Committee, Legislative Committee, and the Bail Subcommittee.
Prior to taking the bench, Judge Pearson was a deputy district attorney where he handled all types of criminal cases from traffic tickets to gang murder prosecutions and was assigned to the Major Violators Unit at the time of his election to the bench. While at the DA’s office Judge Pearson was a regular instructor at the police academy on many areas of the US Constitution and Nevada criminal procedure.
Judge Pearson has spent decades helping our youth. Through the Kids Court program thousands of fifth grade students every year participate in a field trip to the court where they learn about the judicial system, conduct a mock trial and get to ask inmates, in person, about the mistakes they have made and how best not to repeat them. Judge Pearson also volunteers for the high school mock trial competition and the We the People constitutional competition in many roles including assistant coach, scoring judge and presiding judge at the regional, state, and national competitions. Judge Pearson has also been the head coach or assistant coach for more than 25 youth sports teams and is also a Rotarian where he has served as a board member and chairman of the Reno/Sparks Rotary Club's Achievement Beyond Obstacles scholarship committee which honors students from area high schools that have overcome great obstacles with leadership training, mentor support and financial scholarships.
Judge Pearson was raised in Reno where he attended local public schools, Roger Corbett, Vaughn and Reed and later graduated from the University of Nevada with an economics degree, with distinction. Judge Pearson is also a graduate of the University of Utah College of Law where he was a Learey Scholar. Judge Pearson has been married to Kristy Pearson, a local school teacher, since 1998 and has two boys he enjoys skiing and traveling with.