Deborah Ann Agosti (born c. 1952) is a former justice of the Supreme Court of Nevada from 1999 to 2005. She was one of the first one hundred women attorneys in Nevada.

Early life and education

Agosti grew up in Toledo, Ohio and attended Central Catholic High School. She graduated from the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1973 and from the

University of Toledo College of Law The University of Toledo College of Law is the law school at the University of Toledo, and is located on the university's main campus in a residential neighborhood in western Toledo, Ohio. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Associ ...

with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 1976.

Career

Agosti served less than one year as a deputy public defender in

Montgomery County, Ohio Montgomery County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 537,309, making it the fifth-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat is Dayton. The county was named in honor ...

before moving to Nevada. In

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

, Agosti worked for the Senior Citizens Legal Assistance Program from 1977 to 1979. She then worked as a deputy district attorney. Agosti was elected as the first female Justice of the Peace in Reno in 1983. In 1984, she was elected to the Second Judicial District Court in Washoe County and re-elected twice without opposition.

Supreme Court

Agosti was elected to the Nevada Supreme Court in 1998 without opposition. She served on the Supreme Court until her term expired in 2005. After leaving the Supreme Court, she became a senior judge. Near the end of her term, Agosti was criticized for writing an opinion that temporarily let the

Nevada Legislature The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislature in ...

approve tax hikes without the mandatory two-thirds' supermajority. Agosti cited health reasons for choosing not to run for re-election in 2004, although her announcement came two weeks after her retention score had dropped to 44 percent. Agosti was succeeded by

Ron Parraguirre Ronald David "Ron" Parraguirre (born July 8, 1959) is a justice of the Nevada Supreme Court. He was appointed in 2004, and his term ends in 2023. He is also a former president of the Nevada District Judges Association. He received his Juris Docto ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agosti, Deborah 1952 births Living people 20th-century American women judges 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American judges Chief Justices of the Nevada Supreme Court Justices of the Nevada Supreme Court Nevada lawyers Ohio lawyers People from Toledo, Ohio Public defenders University of Toledo alumni University of Toledo College of Law alumni Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States