Peter Thunell has been selected by Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo to serve as the department 26 judge in the Eighth Judicial District Court. He will fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge Gloria Sturman. Judge Thunell will take the bench on March 30 with a split civil and criminal docket. He will be assigned criminal cases from Judge Michelle Leavitt in Department 12. Judge Leavitt will also take on a split docket with civil cases from department 26.

“I’m honored to receive this appointment to the bench from Governor Lombardo,” said Peter Thunell. “My wife Tammy and I have spent the last two decades raising our four kids in Clark County and I look forward to serving our community. As the District Court Judge in Department 26 I will strive to ensure every person who enters my courtroom feels that they have had an opportunity to be heard.”

Thunell previously served as Chief Deputy District Attorney in the Clark County District Attorney’s Office, where he was team chief for the Special Victims Unit. During his tenure with the Clark County District Attorney’s Office, Thunell held several leadership roles, including team chief over a general litigation unit responsible for prosecutions across six local courts. He was also chief of the outlying team, which handled cases in communities outside of Las Vegas. He also served as chief deputy over VICE prosecutions and worked in both the Case Assessment and Gang Units.

Prior to joining the District Attorney’s Office, Thunell worked as a law clerk at a law firm in Salt Lake City. He then moved to Las Vegas where he passed the Nevada Bar and worked as an associate at the law firm Alverson, Taylor, Mortenson & Sanders. He has extensive trial experience, tallying nearly 50 jury trials throughout his career.

“On behalf of the bench, I welcome Peter Thunell to the District Court. His depth of experience will be put to effective use immediately with a split docket,” said Chief Judge Jerry Wiese.  “I appreciate that one of our most experienced judges Michelle Leavitt, is being a team player by agreeing to also handle a split docket, adding civil cases to her caseload to facilitate this transition. Her years of experience and expertise on the bench will be an asset in handling our civil caseload and should make the transition for our new judge smooth.”

Judge Thunell graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in communications and attended law school at the S.J. Quinney School of Law at the University of Utah.