Family Court race features rematch between Maxey and Gaudet

Former Family Court Judge Michel Gaudet, who was known by Paul Gaudet on the bench, is hoping to regain the Dept. N seat he lost in 2024 to now-Judge Kerri Maxey, who defeated Gaudet by more than seven percentage points. 

Gaudet says the reason Maxey won is simple – she’s a woman. He will appear on the ballot this cycle using his middle name, Michel. Gaudet would not say whether he’s trying to make voters think he’s a woman.

He says he’s “trying to level the playing field.”

Gaudet suggests women have a double-digit percentage advantage over men in judicial races. “Nobody wants to acknowledge it, but the national statistics are daunting,” he says. “That’s the reality that I faced two years ago.”

The Current was unable to find research supporting Gaudet’s assertion, however UNLV Political Science Associate Prof. Rebecca GIll found in 2019 that women have an edge over male incumbents in judicial races. 

Gaudet has never been elected. In 2023, he and Maxey were selected as finalists for an open seat in Family Court. Gov. Joe Lombardo chose Gaudet, who took the bench in March 2023. He was defeated by Maxey the following year. 

“I think I have valuable knowledge and service to offer the community as a family court judge,” he said during an interview, adding he has extensive experience in family law, and thinks he “did a pretty good job on the bench. Clark County deserves a person like me.” 

During his tenure as a judge, Gaudet was reversed several times on appeal.

In a child custody case, Gaudet engaged in “a manifest abuse of discretion,” according to the Court of Appeals, when he failed to hold an evidentiary hearing regarding allegations of domestic violence and issued temporary custody orders “without considering the children’s best interest.” The Court wrote in its order, “Although joint legal and physical custody are generally preferred, substantiated allegations of domestic violence must be considered in making any custody determination.” 

In a second case, Gaudet granted custody of one child to the father and the other children to the mother. And In another, the court overturned Gaudet’s termination of a father’s parental rights. 

“If I remember right, during a period of approximately three to five to six years, the father had remitted to the mother of those children $500 in child support, one box of diapers, and two boxes of baby wipes,” Gaudet said. “In my humble opinion, that does not constitute support. So I terminated his parental rights, and it was a tough decision.”

The father in the case notes he was not under any court order to pay support. 

Gaudet says he stands by his decisions and those of the appellate courts. 

Gaudet is running a low-profile campaign. He’s not raising money and he has no website. He has been endorsed by The Third Branch Political Action Committee, a non-partisan organization “dedicated to supporting and electing fair, competent, and diligent judges.” 

Gaudet contends his opponent lacks the breadth of his experience in domestic and family law matters. 

Maxey, who served as a public defender and worked for the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada before taking the bench, received a 78% retention rating in the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Judging the Judges 2025 evaluation.

She’s had cases appealed but says they have not yet been adjudicated. “I’m not against appeals,” she said. ”Whether or not the court finds in my favor, I just want good law to come out of it.”

Maxey says she loves her job but was surprised by its demands and a caseload that requires her to work every day, including weekends.

Family Court, she says, needs about ten additional judges, according to a study commissioned by the court, and lacks resources to move cases along at a more rapid pace. Litigants are waiting months to obtain a divorce. 

“The public defender’s office has a lot of resources. We had social workers. We had investigators. We would be able to get clients into programs to help make sure they don’t reoffend,” she said. “The criminal courts have diversion courts.”

Family Court, she notes, has family mediation for custody matters. 

“That’s it. If we could get these families and couples into mediation, not  just for child support, but also mediation for division of the property, that would help alleviate the caseloads,” she observed. 

As of July, Maxey had raised $70,000 and had $41,500 on hand. 

She is endorsed by more than two dozen law enforcement, labor, and community organizations, including Culinary Local 226, Service Employees International Union, Laborers Union 720, Hispanics in Politics, and the National Organization for Women (NOW).