Kent Dawson

Who is Kent Dawson?

Kent J. Dawson is a senior United States District Court Judge in the District of Nevada, having been appointed to that position by President Bill Clinton on April 6, 2000, confirmed by the United States Senate on May 24, 2000, and receiving his commission on May 31, 2000. Dawson's appointment, along with that of Roger Hunt, filled two seats created by 113 Stat. 1501, and represented the first expansion of the federal judiciary in Nevada since 1984. Dawson has lived in Henderson, Nevada since 1972, where he was also City Attorney and Justice of the Peace.

Dawson was born in 1944 in Ogden, Utah, and attended Weber State College in Ogden on athletic and music scholarships, graduating in 1969. He received his J.D. from the University of Utah Law School in 1971, and served as a law clerk for James Guinan, a Nevada state court judge. Dawson was Henderson City Attorney from 1972 to 1979, then worked in private practice until 1995, when he was appointed Justice of the Peace for Henderson.

A famous case heard by Judge Dawson was the criminal prosecution of professional tax protester, Irwin Schiff.