The part-time Nevada Legislature meets on a biannual basis, and the state has several legislators with full-time employment positions and elected roles. The Supreme Court of Nevada addressed this thorny question about whether a lawmaker should also be a public official in this state.
Supreme Court justices argued about it for over an hour in a recent case about the prosecution-related work of Clark County DA and senator Melanie Scheible. Despite the arguments, the justices did not make an immediate decision about the matter. The Supreme Court is requested to reverse former District Court Judge of Clark County Richard Scotti’s decision to cite Melanie Scheible’s dual jobs and remove the DUI convictions of Henderson residents.
As for Scotti, a legislator and public official of Nevada should not prosecute a defendant in a criminal case. He regarded the above-mentioned as being fundamental to US jurisprudence. The Constitution of Nevada prohibits an individual from performing official duties in more than one elected office or multiple government branches simultaneously.
As for Supreme Court Justice Douglas W. Herndon, people could have considerable distrust if their elected legislators are also asked to enforce the laws they are chosen by election to pass. Through questions, it seemed that the court acknowledged Herndon’s notion mentioned above.
Attorney Craig Mueller stated that the matter should be resolved. For your information, Scotti stated that due process was denied to Mueller’s clients.
The Nevada Supreme Court has James Hardesty as its Chief Justice and six other justices. The seven members raised questions about not just the findings of Mueller but also being demanded to decide on the constitutional matter.
Hardesty found the following facts troubling.
- That Senator Scheible was no legal party in the case regarding her roles
- That the court ruling is likely to have a wide-ranging impact
- That there was no litigation related to the dual service issue in another court
As for Hardesty, the records have nothing in the way of guidance about matters that have to be developed properly and procedurally.
The issue is at the heart of another lawsuit involving the so-called free-market think tank Nevada Policy Research Institute. NPRI says that Senator Nicole Cannizzaro, Assemblyperson Jason Frierson, and the seven other public employees in the Legislature cannot hold elected office and public positions simultaneously. Cannizzaro serves as a public prosecutor in Clark County, whereas Frierson is also an Assistant Public Defender. Mueller stated that Scheible and Cannizzaro are among the Democratic leaders who enacted many pieces of criminal justice legislation in the 2021 Legislature.
Clark County Deputy District Attorney Alexander Chen stated that the court ruling could affect numerous criminal cases. Chen argued that the roles of legislators in the Vegas courthouse and Carson City were separate.
Chen expected the court to rule that acting in the capacity of a deputy DA does not breach the Nevada Constitution’s doctrine known as ‘separation of powers’.
Attorney Deborah Westbrook, representing NACJ and public defenders, mentioned the plain writing in the Constitution that separates legislative, judicial executive government branches. Westbrook said that the plain language keeps people from one of those three branches who are tasked with the use of powers from using functions associated with the others.
Westbrook stated that the Constitution looked to keep a state lawmaker from prosecuting violations of its law. As for Westbrook, letting them prosecute state law violations undermines trust in the criminal justice system and the government of Nevada.
Hardesty asked whether the rule would be applicable to a Nevada public defender who serves in the Nevada Legislature. In response to the question, Westbrook said that public defenders do not represent Nevada.
