If a judge conducting a hearing or trial is unable to proceed, any other judge may proceed upon certifying familiarity with the record and determining that the case may be completed without prejudice to the parties. In a hearing or a nonjury trial, the successor judge must, at a party’s request, recall any witness whose testimony is material and disputed and who is available to testify again without undue burden. The successor judge may also recall any other witness. But if such successor judge cannot perform those duties because the successor judge did not preside at the trial or for any other reason, the successor judge may, in that judge’s discretion, grant a new trial.
Nev. R. Civ. P. 63
Drafter’s Note
2004 Amendment
The revision substantially replaces the former rule and conforms, in large part, to the 1991 amendment to the federal rule. The former rule was limited to disability of the judge and did not specifically provide for disqualification or other reasons that a judge might withdraw from a case. It was also limited to a judge’s withdrawal after trial. The revised rule applies when the judge “is unable to proceed” and is not limited to withdrawal after trial. The federal rule is revised by retaining, as the last sentence, language from the former Nevada rule that gives the successor judge broad discretion to grant a new trial.