Hon. Jack Lehman Sr.

Jack Lehman was a Las Vegas attorney and jurist whose career in Nevada law spanned decades. Born in Germany in 1928, he came to the United States as a young refugee and was raised in California. He graduated from the University of Southern California law school in 1967 and went on to practice law for nearly two decades before his appointment to the bench. Before entering the law, he had also been a figure in Nevada public life, serving as the state's director of economic development and working in the administrations of several Nevada governors.

Lehman served as a District Court judge in Clark County, sitting on the Eighth Judicial District Court until his retirement from the bench in 2002. He is best remembered for creating one of the nation's first adult drug court programs in 1992, establishing the first drug court in Nevada. He later helped establish a juvenile drug court program through the Eighth Judicial District, extending the model to young people in the justice system.

Colleagues remembered his legacy as one of survival and perseverance, labor and devotion, and a ceaseless desire to improve the lives of those around him. His work in problem-solving courts left a lasting mark on the Nevada justice system and on the many individuals who found a path to recovery through the programs he founded.