Gov. Jim Gibbons and his estranged wife, Dawn, are scheduled to let a judge resolve disputes over alimony and real estate Monday, as weekend negotiations for a settlement continued.
“It doesn’t look good,” the first lady’s lawyer, Calvin Dunlap, said tonight of the chances for a settlement, “but we’re having discussions now.”
The governor’s lawyer, Gary Silverman, said, “I’m in negotiations now” when reached tonight.
The trial scheduled at 9 a.m. Monday before Washoe Family Court Judge Frances Doherty is expected to take four days. The courtroom holds about 30 people, so seating will be limited, said Howard Conyers, court administrator.
MoreEarlier AP article:
In a normal year, Gov. Jim Gibbons would have time to spend the final week of 2009 plotting out his re-election run, looking to boost his dismal approval numbers and dealing with a gigantic budget deficit.
Gibbons will instead be in a Reno courtroom for a divorce trial opposite first lady Dawn Gibbons — the woman he evicted from the governor's mansion.
The trial will have no shortage of sizzle as it divides the spoils of a failed 23-year marriage and resurrects some of the scandals that have hounded Gibbons, including his alleged affairs with a Playboy model and a doctor's wife.
Some political observers say the proceedings will only cause more damage to a re-election bid that already is being condemned by some as a lost cause.
MoreSince the trial is scheduled for 9 a.m., I doubt I can get up early enough to go downtown.