Welcome Home with Monique

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This is a kunv Studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. I know you

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see me on the

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video, but

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you still don't pay

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me. No Good morning. This is Monique Buchanan the host of the welcome home with Monique show. And on this show, I talk all things real estate. Listen. I want to thank you for tuning in.

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Well, hello Las Vegas. It is Monique Buchanan the host of the welcome home with Monique show and your nationwide realtor that can assist you in all 50 states. You guys, I'm gonna stop saying just Las Vegas, because that's not true. You know, I can help you in any state you go to, and I can help you in 24 countries, because I'm with exp. But anyways, you guys, I've got a great show for you today. Super excited about this show. I was blessed enough to get an invite from one of my very good friends, a pillar in the community, Devin Moore, but he has a lounge called Mary posa right there on Sahara in Decatur. And if you don't know that spot, because they have free Wednesday night comedy, they have karaoke. I mean, they have something going on every single night of the week. It's the only place that I go hang out at. But anyways, this time, he called me and said that he was gonna have none other than that firecracker over in Congress, Miss Jasmine Crockett. So we were all there. There was a great event. But while I was there, I had the pleasure of meeting two beautiful young ladies that are running for office. In fact, I'm gonna let them introduce themselves. And of course, I've got my my partner, I won't say in crime, but in blessings. Miss Becky with me. You guys know her in a murder. Hi Beck. Hey there. All right, we're gonna go ahead and introduce these young ladies and let them just rock and roll. They're gonna let you get to know them. They're going to let you know what their you know their policies are and why they're running for office. Let's start with you. Crystal Bradford, yes, thank you. Welcome me to be here. My name is Crystal Bradford. I am running for Las Vegas Justice of the Peace department too. I'm currently at the public defender's office. I've been there for going on seven years. I'm a chief public defender, and I like to call it being in the gauntlet with my clients. I am fighting the fight. I am fouling motions. I am going to court every day, and I'm really, really fighting for people and fighting for their rights, making sure that every time they go into court, they are seen and they are heard and they feel like they had adequate representation right on. Now, real quick, we're gonna go ahead and introduce Miss Jessica Smith Peterson as well. Hi, Jessica. Hi. Thank you, Monique. Thank you Becky for having us absolutely now, what are you running for? So I am running for Las Vegas justice of the peace. Department four, so crystals, department two. I'm department four. I am also a chief deputy public defender at the Clark County Public Defender's Office. This August was my seventh year anniversary at the PDS office, so I've been there for a while. So I do know a few things, a couple things, a couple things, not too much, not too much.

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But very similarly, in that experience, you you get the the view of everyone within our judicial system, that's the client, that's the witness, that's the judge, that's the prosecution, other defense attorneys, the corrections officer, and you develop this sense of understanding and compassion as well as a way to discern, you know, what is right, what is fair, what is just, in your position as a public defender, I just want to bring that to the bench. Well, please bring it. Yes, please. Now, let me just do this really quick, because you know, you guys know me. I keep it 100 all the time. And I'm just gonna be honest with you, I was unsure of what the role was for justice of the peace. Can you explain to my listeners that are maybe in my position? What exactly does justice of the peace do? Who would come see you, or how would you you know what I mean? Okay, okay. Jessica, back me up.

Unknown Speaker 4:24
Justice of the Peace is going to handle misdemeanor trials all the way through. So if you are charged with a misdemeanor, you will likely be there in municipal court, but more likely, you'll be in Justice Court. They also handle felonies up to preliminary hearings. They handle evictions. Okay, temporary restraining orders. Good, one eviction. So a lot of people that are listening, God forbid, but I'm just saying eviction, so it's not something criminal, but you know, so you're probably like one of the first people, they'll see

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it is considered.

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People's Court. Yeah, the People's Court. That's great. I love that. The People's Court. Okay, it is usually the first introduction into the court system by anyone. So usually, if you are facing a crime, you're gonna, your case is gonna start out in Justice Court

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and see Becky. I just want to jump in and say that. So with, you know, with the average person, like a lot of people say, Well, I'm not going to be in front of a judge like you mentioned, right, Jessica, but for the average person, Heck, I've been in front I've been in front of you, then a justice or will be, yeah. So this is something that people really need to pay attention to, who's in that seat, because it's very likely that you could very well come in front of that justice of the peace. So you definitely want to take the time to get to know who's running. And you never know. I think people think they'll they'll not be in front of a justice of the peace, because they're not going to commit a crime, right? However, you may be a witness, or you have a loved one or a really good friend who finds themself either as a witness or as a defendant, and you just don't know, and you really want a judge or justice of the peace who is going to fairly look at the law and has an understanding of what's going on and also just reads the case prior to it getting to them on the bench. They are also the individuals who determine bail if you are arrested. So there's a lot of interactions that the justice of the peace have with the community outside of being a defendant, right? Or you can, you know, fall on hard times and unfortunately, get evicted, yes, and be in front of a justice of the peace. So the community needs to know that you know this is something you want to pay attention to again and make sure that the right person is in that seat. So yes, and also, which, I have met a lot of people, but if you want to help people in the community, I've met people who want to start nonprofits. They want to help people who are addicted to drugs. They want to help people with mental illness. Well, a lot of times that's who you're connecting with, is someone in the justice of the peace. I have brought advocates into court because they've started a nonprofit that gives classes that's not known, and I want my judge to accept these classes, you know, in lieu of community service, or in lieu of another class that might be more expensive, so I will bring in an advocate to talk about their programming. And it's a way that people who want to help other people in the community, they might find themselves in Justice Court by doing that, by having a nonprofit working with the court system. That's really good, yeah, that's a really good one. All right, so now we're gonna pivot. Now that we know what Justice of the court does, we're just going to go back and forth. And how about who would come see you. Miss Jessica. So the roles are very similar, and I just want for clarification. So right now, you know evictions, at least in the Las Vegas Justice Courts, they have special hearing masters that deal with the eviction proceedings and correct me if I'm wrong. Right now, the justice of the peace, they do not handle those, but at one point they did, and I don't know if that's gonna go back, depending upon what happens,

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but it's different. Say, in North Las Vegas, the judge there handles eviction proceedings because there aren't hearing masters, okay, but everything else the people are going to come in front of us, protective orders, criminal matters, you know, people, we're a 24 hour town, yes, so driving under the influence is or one of those charges, unfortunately, that that comes through the Justice Court. So those are cases, and those are individuals that we'll come into contact with. Oh, okay, we'll just be in different departments, okay? And Justice of the Peace also handles warrants, so which is a big thing. So if a police officer feels like they have enough for a search warrant, then they want to get the judge to sign off on that warrant. It is a lot of times the justice of the peace that they are contacting and going over with that to get that warrant signed off. So it's very important on who you are putting in those seats, the judges that you are picking absolutely, absolutely now, what Who are you running against? You were explaining to me before we started the show, you have quite a few people that you're actually running against. Is that right? So I have a special election. So the judge that was in the seat retired this summer, and the county opened the seat from the end of July, so July, 22 until the 26th okay? And anyone who had the requirements was able to put in. So you have to have been an attorney in the state of Nevada for the past five years in good standing. Okay, so there were five of us who put into that seat. So I am number four on the ballot,

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soon to be number one for Justice of the Peace department for whereas a lot of the other races.

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They had a primary, or they had a period in time where they weeded out everyone with who had the most votes, and now it's only two people in that race. Okay, and can you tell us, or my listeners, why would they want like, what sets you apart from those, those other candidates that are running? No, so that's a perfect question. So I touched on this earlier. So I have been a public defender for the past seven years, and one of the things that I believe that people don't fully understand is that in this role, we have to talk to everyone. I have to interact with truly the community, whether they are in the court or outside of the court, that includes families of victims, that includes families of the defendant, that includes the judges, the corrections officers, the officers that bring in clients from Nevada Department of Corrections, and you build this relationship with them, and we are the check and the balance in our court system to ensure that people's rights are protected. Judges are often like their referees, to make that decision of okay, I think this is appropriate. I think this is not and then have a decision. I believe that I have the compassion as well as the discernment to be a really great justice of the peace. One, not only because I have been in the community and with the community and beside the community. But I also believe that, both as an attorney, as a public defender and as a mother, I am able to make those decisions and as a referee, in layman's terms, to ensure that

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there is a fair and just outcome. I was just going to ask, like, how that's concerned. I always had a fascination with criminal justice growing up and things like that. But when you guys are in that position, how do you maintain that impartiality and just trying to have an even balance when you and looking at things from a case by case basis, instead of just kind of blanketing everybody that comes in front of you so there are your own lived experience. You can't negate that. I can't say, Okay, I'm walking in as zero real

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you know, there are things that you are people, we are people. And you cannot walk in and say, I am no longer a person. I am the law, I'm AI, I am AI. No, I am not AI. I'm a full human being. However, what I will say is that looking at cases as a defense attorney, you're in the role of an advocate. You're trying to find ways in which you best defend your client. There is a shift when you're a judge, where you you take away that advocacy hat and you look at, if I have all of the cards in front of me, what is the decision that aligns with the laws that we have, without taking away who you are as a person in that decision, and without taking away the experiences and the understandings of the law and of our society?

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And I think that it takes a very special person. And of course, I'm sitting here on your show saying I am that special person, and I believe you to do that,

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because again, it goes back to

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you have to treat everyone with respect in your role as a defense attorney,

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and I feel like as a judge, you know you you have this very serious, very important role where you're able to discern the person that's in front of me is probably experiencing one of the worst times in their life, right? There are victims who are saying, this is also the worst time of my life. And then there are laws that say this is what you can and what you cannot do, and your role as the justice of the peace is to make sure that it fits in a way that is fair, it is just, and it is rooted in integrity and in compassion, right, right? That's really good. Now let me ask you what, what made you guys decide to get into this, you know, arena of public service.

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Go ahead crystal.

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So I did start my legal career in civil law, and I hated it, fighting over money and sometimes $1,000 it was horrible. And I was like, well, maybe I just don't like being an attorney, maybe it's just not for me, because I would just it just didn't feel good. I didn't feel like I was serving any purpose. When I came out here and I applied for the public defender's office and I got hired, I started feeling like I was fulfilling my purpose. I started looking at people like, like my sister said, Who is in the worst part of their lives, and actually helping them, walking them through it, making them feel okay, like someone's got their back, right? And I felt like this is where I need to be. I need to be with the people I don't need to.

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Be fighting over money. I need to be helping people change their change their lives. There's a lot of time we're counselors, there's a lot of time we're teachers. Sometimes we're mothers to some people, but it's so self filling. And I actually got a phone call from a client who was so excited to hear that I was running for judge, and he starts crying, and he says, Miss Bradford, we need you. We need you on the bench. And that touched my heart, and it made me feel like this is where I need to be, if you can go to work every day and you can love your job and enjoy it, especially a job that's stressful, because again, our job is not easy job. Our job is very stressful. I can really have to know the law. We have to put out a lot of little fire. Sometimes we're calming our clients down. Sometimes we're dealing with people with mental illness, with people with withdrawal effects. But you can go to work every day and love it and be excited to come back the next day, then you know you're where you need to be at Absolutely and that's how I feel at the public defender, and I think it's only going to hide heightened when I do become a judge, because, as Jessica said, you know, again, you might be dealing with a witness who this the worst day of their life, a defender who's the worst day of their life. And one thing I've learned in this position, especially being in court, is no one wants to feel like they were not seen or heard when they were in court. Absolutely, when you walk into court, you want to feel like the justice system was fair. And a lot of our clients and a lot of people have expressed that they don't feel like that. They do not feel like the justice system is fair. And I have been in court where I have been told, Hey, you can't stand here because attorneys. This is only for attorneys, and I'm looking like but I am an attorney.

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Well, come on in. So that juxtaposition, right?

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For all you that don't know, this is a beautiful, beautiful sister, a queen. That's a cross for me. So that's just so, you know? So, yeah, and then they're like, Oh, well, come on in. And a lot of time my clients will come in and be like, I felt like I wasn't heard, I wasn't seen. I felt like the judge ignored me. I have been in court and felt ignored. I have found a motion where from the answer are the questions I'm getting from the judge. I know the judge hasn't read my motion. The judge has their mind already made up before we even open our mouths when we're going in, and I know that as a justice of the peace, I'm not going to do that right. I'm going to listen to both sides. I'm going to apply the law to the best of my abilities, and I'm gonna make sure that the end of the day, whether I rule in your favor or not, you're gonna feel like it was fair and heard you. It was heard you got your day in court, and you were respected, yes, and you walk out of there with your head hot, and that's, that's almost all you can ask from a judge. And believe it or not, you know, sometimes we don't get that. Oh, yeah. And so I think that it is so important to have diversity on the bench, and me and my sister Jessica, that, you know, we're we're given diversity on the bench, yes, absolutely. Because a lot of times when we go to court, we don't see people that look like us, you know what I mean. And it's intimidating, it is. It's so intimidating, you know, to walk into that courtroom and and just wonder if you're gonna get a fair shake, or if you're gonna be painted with that, that broad brush, you know, just already assume, assuming that you know whatever, like you said, his mind was already made up. And I've heard that so many times from other people and for myself when I've went into court. But don't y'all start thinking things.

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All right, Jessica, what you got? So I, you know, I am shifting from, you know, doing civil. I did not do civil, but my reason and my why comes from being a kid and being bullied. So I was bullied as a kid, and, you know, it's not a great feeling if you've never, if you've never been bullied.

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But I knew that I was really good with words, and I just saw this article that Maxine Shaw from the TV show, Living Single actually encouraged a lot of young black girls to be lawyers. And I knew from watching that show, like, Hey, she's, you know, someone's trying to push her around. She's a lawyer. She's, she's great with her words. I think this is something that I could do. You've seen yourself. I saw myself in her fast forward to, you know, undergrad law school, I went to Howard, and I said, you know, I want to be a civil rights attorney. I want to fight, you know, on behalf of of people all over whose civil rights have been violated.

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And come to find out, I come to Las Vegas, and I start working at the ACLU of Nevada. Sorry, I spent a year as a law clerk there, and what I realized is that I was wholly unprepared in my mind with what.

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I was dealing with, and it's not in the material, but it's like there is something missing that I don't fully understand. And that following year, I started at the public defender's office, and that's what I didn't understand, is I didn't understand what does our criminal justice system look like? Because there you will see civil rights violations. You will understand where people are living when you're not looking at like the glitz and the glam and you you see both the good as well as the bad of everyone in our criminal justice system and in our society. And I felt like I was missing that, but those skill sets that I developed in trying to advocate and defend that stemming from, you know, childhood Jessica being bullied were put into practice on behalf of my clients, and I've been doing that for the past seven years. And like I said, this is a transition. So it's no longer going from or being an advocate, but it is, hey, I have an understanding of, again, the good and the bad and the in between, and I have the ability and the discernment to look at a situation with all of that lived experience, and can make a decision that is fair and that is just, and very similarly to what crystal said is that you come into the courtroom, you may feel defeated, but you will walk out whether we, you know, make a ruling in your favor or not, with having been heard and with your head high and a decision having been made that you understand, yes, that's good. Sometimes having that foundation and that well roundedness is probably going to be much more beneficial to somebody who is on the bench, as opposed to somebody who hasn't had those kind of lived experiences, in my opinion. And you know, I've had my barrettes stolen out of my

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playground. I just want y'all to know Inez, I'm still

Unknown Speaker 21:55
no, I used to get bullied when I was young. She said, steal my little barrettes. But, yes, but it's funny how God was preparing you even so young back then, for you to be a blessing today, for both of y'all, you know, making a way, even back then, like you said, you were bullied, and that's what, what drove you into this. That's awesome. I love that. So now let me ask you guys this

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where, who's gonna vote for you? Do they have to live in Las Vegas? Can they live in North Las Vegas like so the lines are, it is Las Vegas City incorporated Clark County. So if you live in Las Vegas as high up as Centennial Hills or as far down as Blue Diamond, that is considered to be a part of it. Unfortunately, North Las Vegas and Henderson do not they're their own. They're their own city. And a lot of people out there, you listen up. KU and be listeners, just so y'all know those are their own cities. A lot of folks move here and don't realize that Las Vegas is not the only city in this little bowl that we live in,

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and the strip is unincorporated Clark County, so we won't be on the ballot if you live close to or near all my high rise folks that I sold y'all a house you can

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sorry, y'all,

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okay, so, but Las Vegas residents can vote now. What is it? Is it vote.org that they would check to see if they're registered, and all that, I'm just trying to cover all the bases. And when is the when is the time to vote? So November 5 is the actual election day. So we'll be on the ballot with everyone. All right? With everybody, okay, presidents, vice presidents, with everyone. Be closer to the bottom. Yes. Remember, like they say, you vote down ballot, closer top to bottom. Top to bottom. Stop at the president. Keep on going.

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You're already there. Take the extra three minutes and go ahead and vote for you know who you want to vote for? Yes. And then early voting is, I believe, in October. It starts October 19, so ballots will get mailed out earlier in that week. They should hit homes around the 17th or the 18th. Yeah, that's coming up. And you can vote anywhere in Nevada. You're you have the ability to vote close to your house, close to your job, close to your kids school, but as long as there is a polling place, you can go in and you can go vote, right? We also have online voter registration, okay, if you are a Nevada resident and you have your driver's license, so you can check the Nevada DMV, and you can register to vote there as well. Let me ask you something. I'm glad she brought that up, because my dad is moving here from Texas, and how, what does that look like for people that have moved here? I mean, how long do you have to be here to be considered a Nevada resident? Is it one year? So when he moves, he can update his driver's license. Okay, so as long as our driver's license says Nevada, he's good to go, yes. But I think you can also register by showing like a utility bill. There's some other things, other avenues, yes, other avenues. I know that there was a big push for that. If you didn't.

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Have a license, or if you were a teenager, yeah, he doesn't drive. Turning 18 and you weren't driving. So I believe in the again, they can go to, I believe it's vote.com or.org Yes, and they can get a lot more information about that. Okay, you guys, so vote.org so even if you've moved, you can go on there, because I just updated my address on vote.org

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so if you were wondering how you want to check and make sure, because you know you want to make sure that everything is lined up. When you're able to vote, you're going to jump on vote.org. Now, do you guys have websites that they can you know when this show is over, maybe they want to dive a little deeper? Yes, my website is www.jessicasmithpeterson.com

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it's all one word. You have to say it like A Tribe Called Quest.

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Wes happy over there. He loves

Unknown Speaker 25:51
Jessica, yes. Smith Peterson, so just look for that hyphen. Y'all look for that hyphen. Yes, I'm the only Jessica. And then I love what crystal said. So you said, I'm the only Jessica that's running, and it's for District Two for department four, I'm sorry, department for district and then crystal said, it's crystal clear. I like that. Crystal clear. You won justice. That's right. My website is crystalbradford.com

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you spell my first name, K, R, i, s, t, a, l, and then last name is b, r, A, D, F, O, R, D, so just crystalbradford.com

Unknown Speaker 26:28
and I will be the only crystal on the ballot as well,

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the only crystal you guys, and the only Jessica. So don't forget, November 5 is when you know you can vote for everybody. But there's early voting as early as October 19. October 19. So you have plenty of time, right, Becky, to get out there and get your boat in now before we, you know, wrap it up, we only have a couple minutes. I always like to ask, you know, with realtors, my listeners choose me because they feel like they know me, like me, and trust me. So what is something about you that has absolutely nothing to do with you being a judge?

Unknown Speaker 27:02
Let's see, it's like a fun fact. Okay, so there's like the family fun fact. So I am the baby of five, but in being the baby, there is a 23 year age gap from my eldest sibling and myself. And then, just in kind of fun, this is a very interesting fact. I used to be a part of a dance company as a kid, so I would tap dance for like, 10 years, and

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went to a performing arts middle school. So I am really into the arts. That's awesome. I love that you could tap I could tap

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dance.

Unknown Speaker 27:41
How about you Crystal, all right, fun facts. So along with an attorney, I am a mom. I have a 16 year old, an 11 year old, a three and a four year old, and my three year old was actually born in the car. Oh, wow, I did not make it to the hospital. My husband pulled over on the 515 freeway and delivered her. Oh, my goodness, she came in 12 minutes. Wow. What a and I had two contractions. So when I got to the hospital, I was holding her in one arm and holding my placenta in both I

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walked in the hospital, she walked in there and said, I did your job for you.

Unknown Speaker 28:21
I still got a bill. Well, now listen, crystal clear, that, you know, crystal clear, but also Crystal's mighty, mighty, strong. Okay, I can't even imagine that. So listen, ladies, it was such a pleasure having you on the show. I'm so glad y'all gave my listeners a chance to get to know Ms, Crystal, Bradford and MS, Jessica Smith Peterson, and don't forget those names now. Y'all remember Jessica and Crystal All right. And Thank you Becky for coming on, and we're just gonna go ahead and roll on out and until I hear from you guys, or we'll talk soon. Thank you so much. Thank you guys. Thank you for listening. Please remember all terms discussed are simply an estimate. My license number is S 1788, 46, my phone number, if you'd like to contact me, is 702-984-3700,

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you can also find me on YouTube, and please join me tomorrow at my church, Living Word Church on hassle. I'm part of the EXP Realty Group.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai