Clark County Nevada Courts

Nevada Supreme Court hears arguments over special election to fill open House seat

Justices heard oral arguments for just shy of an hour, but gave no indication how they may rule. The high court, though, is under a tight deadline if the election to fill Nevada’s vacant 2nd Congressional seat is to be held Sept. 13, as ordered by Gov. Brian Sandoval.

Secretary of State Ross Miller and the Democratic Party appealed a lower court ruling that rejected Miller’s call for an open ballot, something he termed a “ballot royale,” to fill the seat vacated when Sandoval appointed former Republican Rep. Dean Heller to the U.S. Senate.

The state Republican Party contends major party central committees should choose their nominee. The state GOP has since rallied around former Sen. Mark Amodei. Democrats endorsed state Treasurer Kate Marshall.

Nevada’s sprawling 2nd Congressional District encompasses a slice of Clark County in the south and spreads throughout the rest of the state. Republicans hold a huge voter registration advantage in the largely rural territory, and a crowded ballot could benefit Marshall and help Democrat’s claim the seat for the first time since the district was created in 1982.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Deputy Attorney General Kevin Benson, representing Miller, called the House of Representatives the “people’s house,” and said the lower court ruling by District Judge James Russell, if allowed to stand, would deprive voters of “any meaningful choice” by handing the decision to the parties’ central committees.

His argument was quickly interrupted by Justice Mark Gibbons, who noted the 1954 case when Sen. Pat McCarran, a Democrat, died after the primary but before the general election. In that case, the court ruled political party committees would choose their candidate for the fall ballot.

Benson countered that a 2003 law providing for a special election to fill a House vacancy set new guidelines.

Nevada has never held a special election for a House vacancy, and part of the problem is that the 2003 law directed the secretary of state — then Heller — to adopt regulations on how one would be conducted. That was never done.

Chief Justice Michael Douglas asked, “Do we have a problem because no regulations were adopted?”

No, said Benson, arguing existing statutes give the secretary of state sole discretion to interpret state law and set the rules.

David O’Mara, an attorney representing the Republican Party, said Nevada election policy has always been to allow party voters to “narrow” the field of candidates. Without a primary, that duty falls to the central committees, he argued.

Veterans Court In Clark County, Nevada - Veterans Today Forum

Clark County, Nevada: Veterans In Politics needs your help to make sure that a Veterans Court is established in every municipality in our State to ensure that our returning military veterans receive treatment instead of incarceration. Let’s welcome our service member’s home with some gratitude, we trained them to be the way they are and it’s up to all of us to help “un-program” our veterans who are having difficulty adjusting to civilian life again. Please help us to help them so they can be a productive member of society when they come home. In 2009 a number of veterans went to Carson City and or the Grant Sawyer building in Clark County to testify before our legislators on the desperate need for a Veterans Court within the counties throughout the state of Nevada. This was spear headed by the Honorable Family District Court Judge, Jennifer Elliot, and former Speaker of the Nevada Assembly, Barbara Buckley. As a result, AB187 was unanimously passed by the Nevada Legislature during the 2009 Legislative session and became effective July 1, 2009 and it was signed into law by former Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons and is now known as Nevada Revised Statue 176. NRS 176 “Authorizes the establishment by district courts of a program for the treatment of certain offenders who are veterans or members of the military.” Veterans Court is optional, but when our military is sent off to war that’s not “optional”. Commissioner Sisolak suggested that each judge set a time during the week and handles veterans that are before them or transfer all veterans to one judge and that judge transfers there none veteran defendants, a trade off. Commissioner Sisolak stated that the veteran are in the system anyway, so it really should not allocate any additional funds. Veterans In Politics meet with Justice of the Peace (JP) Melanie Tobiasson and Justice of the Peace William Kephart in an effort to bring Veterans Court into the Justice of the Peace jurisdiction. We found out that Judge Tobiasson is in charge of Veterans Court within the jurisdiction of the JP, but made it optional for the judges to send the veterans to her courtroom. Veterans In Politics meet with District Court Judge David Barker and found out that Veterans Court only applies to non violent offenders and only to members of the military that served in combat.

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