Carli Kierny Biography – Carli Kierny Wiki
Carli Kierny, whose full name is Carli Lynn Kierny, serves as the judge for Department 2 of the Nevada 8th Judicial District Court. Voters elected her to the bench in November 2020, and she officially took office on January 4, 2021. Her six-year term runs through January 4, 2027, with her next reelection contest scheduled for November 3, 2026.
Before joining Department 2 of the District Court, Judge Kierny built much of her legal career at the Clark County Public Defender’s Office, where she worked for a decade. Five of those years were spent on the sexual assault team. She also represented the public defender’s office on the countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Committee, a group focused on improving probation outcomes across Clark County.
Kierny’s legal career began in Champaign County, Illinois, where she worked as a public defender and tried dozens of misdemeanor and felony cases. Her public service also included volunteer work with the SafeNest PS 417 program, which provides resources aimed at preventing lethal domestic violence incidents. During law school, she tried several cases as a clerk with the Cook County Homicide Task Force and, through the Chicago-Kent Law Clinic, helped work on the exoneration of a man who had been wrongfully convicted.
Judge Kierny earned her bachelor’s degree in communication and media studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2003. She later received her Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2008, according to her official bio.
Carli Kierny Age
District Court Judge Carli Lynn Kierny was born in 1981 in Duluth, Minnesota, United States.
Family
Judge Kierny is the daughter of two public school teachers. She is married, and she and her husband have two children.
Carli Kierny Political Party
Judge Carli Kierny is a nonpartisan judge.
Tupac Shakur Murder Trial
Judge Carli Kierny is overseeing the trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who is accused of helping orchestrate the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur. Davis, once a leader of the South Side Compton Crips gang, was arrested in September 2023 and charged with murder with the use of a deadly weapon, with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. He has remained in custody since his arrest.
Davis is the only person ever charged in connection with Shakur’s death. Judge Kierny has ruled the jury will be able to hear about the book Davis published and his previous police interviews. He has pleaded not guilty.
