Joseph W. Houston II

Deceased1 discipline record

Bar #1440 - ATTORNEY Deceased

Admitted: 9/16/1974
Law school: U.S. International

In Memoriam

Joseph W. Houston II was admitted to the Nevada bar in 1974 and practiced law in Las Vegas for five decades.

Houston died on April 8, 2024. According to Las Vegas police and Review-Journal reporting, he fatally shot attorney Dennis Prince and Prince's wife, Ashley Prince, during a deposition at the Prince Law Group offices in Summerlin - a custody matter involving Houston's son - and then took his own life. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's final report on the shooting was released in 2025.

This entry is maintained as part of the public record of the Nevada bar.

Prominent Las Vegas attorney among 3 killed in Summerlin shooting (Las Vegas Review-Journal) - Metro releases final report on Summerlin law office shooting (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Discipline history

Public Reprimand Case No.: SBN22-00250 Effective Date: 06/12/2023 [ View Document ]
View document (PDF)

Record last verified Jun 10, 2026

Appellate record

Handled 11 Supreme Court of Nevada / Court of Appeals of Nevada cases on record.

Results in appellate decisions and orders

75% won of 8 decided cases

Won 6Mixed 0Lost 2

Civil cases: 75% of 4
Court-order requests: 75% of 4

Details by role (challenging vs. defending a ruling)

Civil cases - Defending a ruling: won 3 of 4
Court-order requests - Requesting a court order: won 1 of 2
Court-order requests - Opposing a court-order request: won 2 of 2

Appellate courts uphold far more rulings than they overturn, so lawyers who mostly defend rulings tend to show higher won-shares than lawyers who mostly challenge them. This breakdown lets you compare like with like.

Won means the court ruled the way this side asked. Mixed means the court agreed in part. Cases that were dismissed or have no clear result are listed but not counted. Based on the court's published decisions and unpublished orders; coverage is still being extended.

85407 - MATTHIESEN VS. DIST. CT. (GRIFFITH) (Oct 13, 2022)Request deniedLost - sought the court order case details
83231-COA - KURZ VS. ANTHONY (CHILD CUSTODY) (Mar 23, 2022)Ruling upheldWon - defended the ruling case details
82019 - TINGLING VS. FAIRWEATHER (Oct 15, 2021)Ruling upheldWon - defended the ruling case details
81885 - JENSEN VS. DIST. CT. (JENSEN) (Nov 17, 2020)Request deniedWon - opposed the court order case details
80236 - TINGLING VS. FAIRWEATHER (Mar 23, 2020)Dismissednot counted case details
75546-COA - KERRIGAN VS. KERRIGAN (Jan 31, 2019)Ruling upheldWon - defended the ruling case details
76689-COA - KERRIGAN VS. DIST. CT. (KERRIGAN) (Aug 18, 2018)Request deniedWon - opposed the court order case details
75303 - HERNANDEZ VS. DIST. CT. (HERNANDEZ) (Apr 25, 2018)Dismissednot counted case details
71761 - KERRIGAN VS. KERRIGAN (CHILD CUSTODY) (Jan 4, 2017)Dismissednot counted case details
61655 - HOLDAWAY-FOSTER VS. BRUNELL (Jun 26, 2014)Ruling overturnedLost - defended the ruling case details

Case data via YourNevadaJudges.com - Nevada appellate decisions and orders

Profile data from official public records, last verified Jun 10, 2026. Request a correction via the corrections page.