About Lucinda

Lucinda was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and was Richard and May Lu Hamill’s first of four children.  Her family moved several times throughout her school years, ending in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook for junior and senior high school.  Lucinda discovered her love of figure skating when she was five and she began skating competitively at age 10.  Lucinda’s skating required hours of daily practice, necessitating a modified school schedule.  She periodically lived away from home, completing schoolwork with the help of a tutor.  Lucinda’s parents made tremendous sacrifices of time and money to enable her to follow her dream. 

Education

When she was 15, Lucinda ended her competitive skating career so that she could focus on her education.  She graduated from high school in 1981 and moved out west to attend UCLA, were she majored in history.  After receiving her degree, Lucinda worked a variety of jobs – as a computer administrator and educator, a graphics designer and as an editor for a newspaper syndication company.   

Although these jobs enabled her to experience a variety of work environments, Lucinda decided that a law career would make the best use of her analytical and communications skills.   She attended Pepperdine School of Law and received her Juris Doctor Degree in 1993.  Southern California’s dry legal market provided incentive to look elsewhere for a job.  While in Las Vegas for a brief visit with extended family, Lucinda contacted the District Attorney’s Office and was invited to interview.   

Professional Career in Las Vegas

Wearing the suit she brought with her by happenstance, Lucinda met with the hiring committee and was offered a job on the spot.  One month later, she relocated to Las Vegas and began a career with the District Attorney’s Office that would last 16 years and counting.  Lucinda began work as a law clerk in the Appellate Division and then moved on to prosecute felony and misdemeanor cases as a Deputy District Attorney.   

Lucinda loved her new life in Las Vegas.  Aviation had always played a big role in Lucinda’s family – her grandfather flew in World War II and both he and her grandmother, also a pilot, flew all over the world together.  Lucinda’s father and sister are both pilots and her brother flies F-16s for the Air Force, and is an aerobatic pilot in airshows, as well.  Lucinda decided to join the family past time and in 1997, she earned her private pilot’s license.   

In 1998, Lucinda married Frank Coumou, a fellow deputy district attorney, and she moved to the Civil Division of the District Attorney’s Office.  There, she began representing Clark County, its departments and employees, as well as the District Attorney and his Office, in State and Federal Court.  Additionally, she represented those entities in various administrative hearings, as well as providing them with legal advice.   

Experienced Public Servant

Many types of cases are brought against Clark County:  claims for personal injury resulting from County actions, allegations that the County has violated civil rights, and employee challenges to discipline or termination, just to name a few.  Defending Clark County differs from defending a private entity, because the money at stake belongs to the taxpayers.  Therefore, Lucinda believes strongly that Clark County deserves a vigorous defense to ensure the taxpayers that their money is spent only when it is truly justified. 

Defending Clark County

An example of a case that Lucinda successfully fought on Clark County’s behalf, saving the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, involved a car accident that resulted in the tragic death of an 8-year-old girl.  A mother was driving with her two children, when she was hit by a driver who failed to stop for a posted stop sign.  The impact resulted in fatal injuries to the little girl and her parents brought suit against the driver and Clark County, among others.  They alleged that the “Stop Ahead” warning sign was obstructed and that the County had negligently maintained it.  Although pictures taken shortly after the accident occurred showed no obstructions to the “Stop Ahead” sign or the Stop sign itself, the litigation went on for three years before Lucinda was ultimately able to persuade the District Court to dismiss Clark County. 

Lucinda also defended the Regional Transportation Commission in a case involving a woman who drove up onto a sidewalk and into a bus shelter, killing four teens who were waiting nearby.  The families charged that the bus shelter was incorrectly placed and constructed, despite the fact that the children were waiting near, not in, the bus shelter.  The woman who caused the accident had a large amount of prescription medication in her system and she never did cooperate in the civil litigation.  Lucinda was eventually able to convince the District Court to dismiss the RTC from the case, again saving the taxpayers money. 

Most recently, Lucinda defended District Attorney David Roger against claims that his office violated the civil rights of a woman who had been convicted of passing bad checks back in the early 1990s.  The woman had been convicted of several theft-related felonies prior to this case.  The woman’s conviction had been upheld by the Nevada Supreme Court and by the Federal District Court. The woman finally convinced the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn her conviction on a legal technicality.  She then filed suit against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Detective who handled her case, as well as the District Attorney, alleging wrongful prosecution.  She sought millions of dollars in damages.  Lucinda successfully defended David Roger before the Federal District Court and she prevailed in the appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.    

Family Life

Lucinda is currently a Chief Deputy District Attorney and she continues to play a vital role in defending Clark County and its various entities.  Lucinda and her husband, Frank, are raising 5 children.  Their oldest son is 18, followed by a 10-year-old daughter, a 7-year-old daughter and twins, a son and a daughter, who are 5.  

Commitment and Integrity

Lucinda believes she has the intellectual ability, the experience and the integrity to be a great judge.  She has demonstrated a commitment to public service as a Deputy District Attorney for the past 16 years.  Lucinda would be honored to continue that commitment as your judge in District Court Department 28.