1. Except as provided in subsection 3 and NRS 266.405, each municipal judge must be chosen by the electors of the city within which the municipal court is established on a day to be fixed by the governing body of that city. The term of office of a municipal judge is the period fixed by:

(a) An ordinance adopted by the city if the city is organized under general law; or

(b) The charter of the city if the city is organized under a special charter.

Before entering upon his or her duties, a municipal judge shall take the constitutional oath of office.

2. A municipal judge must:

(a) Be a citizen of the State;

(b) Except as otherwise provided in the charter of a city organized under a special charter, have been a bona fide resident of the city for not less than 1 year next preceding his or her election;

(c) Be a qualified elector in the city; and

(d) Not have ever been removed or retired from any judicial office by the Commission on Judicial Discipline.

3. The governing body of a city, with the consent of the board of county commissioners and the justice of the peace, may provide that a justice of the peace of the township in which the city is located is ex officio the municipal judge of the city.

4. For the purposes of this section, a person shall not be ineligible to be a candidate for the office of municipal judge if a decision to remove or retire the person from a judicial office is pending appeal before the Supreme Court or has been overturned by the Supreme Court.

[36:19:1865; B § 941; BH § 2454; C § 2536; RL § 4856; NCL § 8398] — (NRS A 1983, 899; 1985, 671; 1999, 95, 1183)