Oh-No-He-Di-Nit!

Don Chairez (the man running against current Clark County District Attorney David Roger) has officially fired the first negative-campaign shot via a television ad:

When reached for comment, Mr. Chairez stated he would have sought the death penalty for Ms. Hilton - citing The Hottie & The Nottie as his aggravating circumstance.

(Thanks, Tipster!)

CCDA and NLV Courts Continue Pissing Match

That August 3rd deadline came and went without incident, but North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Stephen Dahl decided to lob a grenade at the Clark County District Attorney's office over the weekend.

Speaking to the press, Dahl claimed that 20% of felonies go unpunished for lack of a prosecutor. From LV Legal News:

“We dismiss a lot of cases,” he said, and there is a price to pay. This fiscal year, 2,625 felony arrestees were charged in North Las Vegas. Dahl said 539 were dismissed. Most of them, he said, were dismissed “pursuant to statute,” meaning the state failed to meet deadlines, such as holding a plea hearing for a detained person within 72 hours, or a probable cause review within 48 hours.

Dahl goes on to talk about a case where a man was released on a domestic violence charge and proceeded to kill his girlfriend and himself.

District Attorney David Roger says it's a funding issue:

The issue is manpower. District Attorney David Roger said he can’t send three deputies to North Las Vegas Justice Court because there are dozens of unfilled positions. “We’d love to have a prosecutor for every courtroom in the county,” said Roger, “but we’ve lost 60 positions.”

Our tipster tells us that the DA now sends two deputies to North Las Vegas - one stays in Dahl's courtroom the entire time, and the other goes back-and-forth between JP Natalie Tyrrell and JP Chris Lee. If true, we're not sue what Dahl has to complain about - but Tyrrell and Lee should be pissed!

It looks like Dahl is essentially calling Roger to the mat. The response, if there is one, should be interesting.

(LV Legal News; Thanks Tipster!)

Criminal Charges Likely at Coroner's Inquest Today

We received the following potentially juicy tip regarding the Trevon Cole coroner's inquest today:

David Roger was over to the AG yesterday and asked that they have a representative present at the coroner's inquest Friday.

This request has occurred only once before. The DA and AG have an agreement that the AG will file charges and prosecute any Metro officer found criminally liable by a coroner's inquest.

Our tipster thinks this request means that it is very likely charges will be filed today after the inquest.

The coroner's inquest is made up of a jury of seven who can reach three conclusions regarding a police-involved death: justified, excusable or criminal. In 34 years, only one case was ruled criminal in a coroner's inquest in Clark County.

(Thanks, Tipster!)

You Got Marcummed!

The comments (and the courthouse) were abuzz yesterday with a rumor that criminal defense attorney Jonathan MacArthur has been served with a Marcum notice - which informs an individual they are a target of a grand jury proceeding and gives them an opportunity to testify before the grand jury. Yes, we had to look that up.

We have no idea why MacArthur is being targeted ... oh, wait.

You may remember MacArthur as the attorney who got himself in a bit of hot water with the DA's office back in 2007 for posting on his MySpace page under personal interests: "Breaking my foot off in a prosecutor's ass ... and improving my ability to break my foot off in a prosecutor's ass."

Shockingly, that statement got MacArthur removed as a judge pro tem, a position which he defined like this: "Imagine a substitute teacher with a black choir robe and a disconcerting amount of authority."

Mr. Mac - if you're looking for an outlet for all that pent-up provocative legal wordery, we'd be happy to provide you a guest spot here at WWL. Don't waste that stuff on MySpace!

(LVRJ; Thanks Tipsters!)

District Attorney and NLV Courts Headed for a Showdown

On July 6, North Las Vegas justice court officials added a third morning criminal session on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, expecting Clark County DA David Roger to send a third prosecutor to handle the extra courtroom time. Roger, apparently, had different expectations. From the RJ:

Roger, struggling with the loss of dozens of positions because of the ongoing county budget crunch, decided to staff the three extra courtroom sessions with the two prosecutors currently assigned to North Las Vegas.

Chief Justice of the Peace Natalie Tyrrell did not like Roger's response, so she has "instructed Roger to staff all three courtrooms with a prosecutor beginning Aug. 3." This is where things get juicy, as Roger has publicly stated that he has no intention of sending an additional prosecutor:

"We have two attorneys there. We'll cover the third calendar when we get there," Roger said. "We are incredibly short-staffed. We have lost 60 positions over the last two years, and our caseload has not gone down."

Roger said he doesn't believe Tyrrell has the authority to order him to send another prosecutor to the North Las Vegas courts. He also said the dispute could be resolved easily if the justices of the peace considered some alternatives, such as holding the third session in the afternoon instead of the morning. That would allow him to more easily staff the extra sessions, he said.

Silly David Roger, don't you know that Clark County judges need to be at home in time to watch Judge Joe Brown in the afternoons? How are they supposed to hold court?

One of our tipsters seems to think that the NLV Judges aren't actually busy enough to hold a third calendar, but are in fact just attempting to "look busy for the public." Terri March, the administrator of North Las Vegas Justice Court, begs to differ:

"Our judges are in the best position to know and understand the community in which they live and serve," March said in a statement. "This decision was made in an effort to do everything possible to benefit and protect the citizens of North Las Vegas."

Our favorite quotes in the article come from Assistant District Attorney Chris Owens. The RJ published various snippets of letters written by Owens in this ongoing fight. This bit of prose brought tears to our eyes:

"It is obvious to most of us who have worked within this specialized community that there is an ominous consequence to unilateral action," he wrote.

"Rogue undertakings place an unfair and unnecessary strain upon the resources of sister institutions. The beneficiaries of these maverick endeavors are often the purveyors of crime, rather than the law-abiding citizenry."

"Ominous consequences?" "Unilateral actions?" "Rouge undertakings?" "Maverick endeavors?" We are still talking about the NLV justice courts, right? Does Owens moonlight as a presidential speechwriter?

How about it, commenters, any opinion one way or the other? Is the DA being unreasonable? Is NLV just trying to "look busy?" Either way, it should be interesting to see what happens on August 3rd.

(LVRJ; Thanks, Tipsters!)

D.A. to Dr. Needles: "Faker!"

After finally indicting Dr. Dipak Desai for the 2008 hepatitis C outbreak he caused, the D.A. is now calling him out on that convenient "stroke" he had back in 2008, just as the shit was hitting the fan. [Punny!]

From the LVRJ:

“It is the state’s belief and position that defendant Desai is malingering and does not possess the level of impairment which might prevent him from understanding and participating in his defense,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Mike Staudaher wrote in his motion. “Defendant Desai has continually tried to hide behind a curtain of mental and physical impairment so he can avoid facing consequences of his actions.”

Staudaher is requesting all medical records related to the strokes Desai claims to have had, and he wants to choose the physician who would conduct Desai’s independent medical evaluation.

The D.A. also had an interesting account of a little "rope-a-dope" Desai pulled on a fellow colleague just as the scandal was going down:

The prosecutor said Desai asked a partner in the now-closed Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, Dr. Eladio Carrera, to read a prepared statement at a Feb. 27, 2008, news conference responding to the outbreak. Carrera has since testified under grant of immunity before the grand jury that indicted Desai.

“Dr. Desai told Dr. Carrera that, although he was the medical director and CEO of the clinic, his cardiologist would not allow Dr. Desai to read the prepared statement,” Staudaher wrote. “Dr. Carrera believed that Dr. Desai was being disingenuous and that Dr. Desai looked ‘hale and hardy.’” Staudaher added: “Dr. Carrera did not want to be the lone doctor reading the prepared statement and insisted that Dr. Desai stand by Dr. Carrera as he delivered the statement. Dr. Desai agreed, but just before they were to go to the press conference, Dr. Desai conveniently developed an illness, which prevented him from attending.”

"Syke!" Seems this isn't the first time Desai has hid behind an "ailment" to avoid trouble.

If Dr. Carrera had any stones he would have gotten up there and pinned everything on Desai at the press conference. Of course, if he had any brains he would not have been working for him in the first place.

(LVRJ)

Claus Is Out ... But The Case Goes On

Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett re-filed the same charges against Detective David Boruchowitz roughly nine hours after Pahrump Justice of the Peace Tina Brisebill struck down the first criminal complaint against Boruchowitz because she said Beckett lacked the authority to name CCC as a special prosecutor.

From the RJ:

Boruchowitz was scheduled for arraignment on Monday. Instead, Brisebill ruled on a motion the detective filed Friday seeking to have the charges thrown out.

The judge wrote that Beckett was free to refile the charges under his own signature or that of a "statutorily authorized deputy district attorney."

That is exactly what Beckett did Monday afternoon.

This time around, the total number of charges has been upped to 27 and divided into two separate criminal complaints.

Take that, Detective - see if you can file two motions to dismiss. Bwa-ha-ha-haaaaa!

Beckett said that the case"might find itself going all the way to the Supreme Court, I don't know." However, Nye County Sheriff Tony DeMeo put it another way: "Get your Dramamine out. I think this thing is going to give people motion sickness."

(LVRJ; Thanks, Tipster!)

The Nyes Have It!

According to the RJ, Nye County District Attorney Robert Beckett was arrested Wednesday morning on fraud and embezzlement charges in connection with a bank account his office managed for more than 13 years.

Beckett has been charged with more than 40 counts, including 20 counts of fraudulent appropriation of property, 20 counts of misconduct of a public officer, one count of malfeasance of office and one count of embezzlement.

Seriously. The District Attorney.

The account in question was used to hold money from people charged with writing bad checks. The money was supposed to be used to reimburse victims of bad checks. Bad-check writers also must pay fees on top of their reimbursements.

Problem is, the account came up a bit short during a recent audit. Beckett's explanation for the shortfall is classic:

Beckett last week said the fund was being phased out because "people aren't writing bad checks anymore."

Yay! Only "good checks" in Nye County from now on - problem solved. Give that man another term in office!

You may remember Beckett as the DA who managed to wreck two vehicles in six hours while driving drunk back in June of 2008. He is, incredibly, running for his fifth term as Nye County DA ... but this time he has some stiff competition. [Rimshot!]

The election will (hopefully) come down to a choice between Ron Kent, Beckett's former chief civil deputy and Brian Kunzi, a senior deputy attorney general. Although, maybe it would be better for us if Beckett stayed in office. Who knows what he'll do next?!

(LVRJ; Thanks Tipsters!)

RJ Publishes "Magic Number" List for Public Employees

Oddly veiled as a hit-piece on our brave firefighters, the RJ has published a story accompanied by a HUGE Excel spreadsheet (upper-left corner) listing the salaries of every single Clark County employee.

The list includes the salaries of our local DA's and PD's, and some of their salary/retirement packages put our own Magic Number list to shame. (BTW ... we're still taking tips for our 2009 list of civil firm salary/benefit info)

Becoming a "public servant" is starting to look better by the day.

(LVRJ)

What to do when there are "no estoppels" and "no help"

You lawyers may not want to discuss it, may just want to sweep it all under the rug and not deal with it, but there are "sex issues" in the Courts. What are the "sex issues"? I have no idea. But the conspiracy theorist who runs thetruthaboutsexissues.com does. If only she'd actually tell us what those issues are.

Readers, meet Joan Baumeister. Ms. Baumeister is leading her own personal crusade to defeat Judge Ann Zimmerman and District Attorney David Roger in the 2010 election. Why? After watching several of her videos on youtube (Baumeister page available here), we still have no idea.

Ms. Baumeister has posted several videos in which she has a "Conversation with America" and discusses "what they do to girls". What do they do to girls? We're not quite sure, but it has something to do with Ms. Baumeister's displeasure with her experience in Las Vegas Justice Court, where she states there is "no process, no plaintiff, no evidence" and that she "was brought to the Court to suffer abuse". She claims to have been "the victim of three secret hearings and two false imprisonments".

Specifically, Baumeister complains that she had no way out, "no estoppels and no help" against Judge Zimmerman's alleged crimes. What crimes? After watching the videos, we have no idea, but Baumeister explains that "no one believed me because she is a judge" and the U.S. District Court dismissed her civil rights complaint (2:05-cv-00578-KJD-GWF) without hearing its merits. As for David Roger, Baumeister claims that he "terrifies women" and that the "Prosecutor has become a persecutor" (her case against D.A. Roger, A523434, was dismissed by then Judge Siatta).

Feeling left out because you're not a judge or a D.A. and you want to know what you do to girls? Don't worry, she also has a message for you, Nevada Legal Community:

With Souter Out, Could Rawlinson Be In?

Now that Justice Souter has announced his retirement, could President Obama possibly nominate 9th Circuit Judge (and former Clark County Assistant DA) Johnnie B. Rawlinson to fill his seat? MSNBC seems to think it is a possibility, as they have placed Rawlinson on their short list of possible replacements.

If the President is going to fish in the 9th Circuit for this nomination, we would prefer that he cast his line a little more to the right and go with the real pick ... Bybee.

However, as we all know, this nominee is going to be chosen based upon what they have between their legs, not their ears. This anonymous commenter on the ATL post about Souter's replacement pretty much nailed it:

It is undeniable that a vagina is a primary qualification for the SCOTUS. That just makes sense. However, some women have a condition called didelphic uterus, which results in - wait for it - TWO vaginas.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/real_life/article344794.ece

Can you imagine the power of a two-vaginaed Justice? She would be undefeatable in the political correctness rock-paper-scissor calculations made in modern liberal thought, where her double barreled crotch shotgun would double not only her female qualifications, but perhaps even count as a physical disability. Can you imagine?! Better still, if we were able to find such a woman who was of a pre-approved minority (African-American, Hispanic, and/or Native American), her qualifications would stack up like some sort of fucking appointee Voltron.

I hereby petition Obama to divert all funds not previously diverted from National Defense into searching for such a candidate and, if possible, somehow wrestling her overpowered frame into a cage for shipment to the SCOTUS.

Please Note: We are in no way insinuating that Judge Rawlinson has two hoo-hoos ... just that it may help her chances of securing the nomination if she does.

(MSNBC; ATL; SCOTUS Blog; Voltron; Thanks, Sl)

Give What Back?

Who among us hasn't had a brief lapse of memory and walked out of a store with something we didn't pay for? Who hasn't had our kid snag something off the shelf of the Kwik-E-Mart, only to discover it later while loading him/her into the car? Who hasn't walked into a store at the Sundance Resort, snagged a necklace off a mannequin, put it in your murse, signed your name to a few postcards, and left without paying? Oh, you guys haven't done that last one? Guess it's just us and Gary Guymon then.

You may remember Guymon as the rock-star District Attorney who put away Black Widow murderess Margaret Rudin. Or, more likely, you may remember him as one of the attorneys involved in the infamous G-Sting debacle of 2003.

Guymon's been busy since then, he moved over to the Public Defender's office (where they are, by nature, a little more tolerable of alleged criminal-types), and apparently he has been doing a bit of petty larceny on the side. From LVNow:

On the afternoon of March 24, 2009, just as a clerk walks away from the counter and into a backroom, a man is seen entering the front door. He quickly focuses his attention on a mannequin by the door.

With almost no hesitation, the man on the tape plucks a necklace from the mannequin. He checks around to see if anyone saw him. He then moves across the store toward the counter and as he walks he appears to slip the necklace into a bag he was carrying.

The man then proceeds to fill out three postcards at the counter, which is how the store was later able to get an idea of who he was. He filled out the postcards, sent one to his wife and one to his office secretary and signed his name -- Gary.

We still have a hard time believing this ... it just doesn't seem right. Guymon has to be at the top of the County's pay-scale by now, and his wife is the Guymon in Goldsmith and Guymon. It just doesn't seem possible that he is that hard up for cash.

This one pretty much speaks for itself, we won't rob you of the pleasure of watching George Knapp tell the story himself, complete with the actual surveillance video.

(Las Vegas Now; Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)

Twenty Five Dollars

The LV Sun headline reads: "Controversy erupts over prosecutors paying witnesses for interviews." The "controversy" in question arises from the Clark County District Attorney's interpretation of NRS 50.225, the statute that provides for the paying of witness fees and expenses. According to the statute, witnesses are "[t]o be paid a fee of $25 for each day’s attendance ... ," and includes a section authorizing the reimbursement of travel expenses.

The current contention arose when the Nevada ACLU learned that the district attorney has been paying witnesses the same statutory $25 stipend for appearances at pre-trial conferences. The ACLU contends that the statute only provides for payment to witnesses for testifying during trial, on the record. The district attorney believes that the same law also allows for their pretrial conference payments.

Honestly, we don't see what all the fuss is about. It seems logical to us that if you are going to pay a witness for their time to show up during trial, the witness should also be entitled to reimbursement when they take the time to show up for a pretrial conference. Sure, some are worried that prosecutors are paying for favorable testimony, but it seems to us that any such witness bias could easily be cleared up by a competent defense attorney on cross examination.

However, it appears that the Sun and its commenters have sided with the ACLU on this one. We're interested in your take on this, WWL commenters. Does the reimbursement of witness fees by the district attorney's office bother you?

(LV Sun)

Mugshot Thursday

Who wouldn't trust this guy with their money? The man to the right is William Vargas. He (allegedly) bilked desperate homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure out of thousands of dollars. From LasVegasNow:

The alleged scheme involved the collection of upfront fees for the purpose of assisting the victims with avoiding foreclosure on their homes. The suspects, under the business of Federal Housing Aid, allegedly charged the victims between $899 to $1500 for foreclosure rescue services and offered a 100% money back guaranty, claiming their company would refund the money if the foreclosure could not be stopped. The state says the company did not follow up on its promises.

And you may all address your "Thank You" cards to Reno Deputy District Attorneys Roy Stralla and Zach Young for making sure you never bump into the man to the left in a dark alley. His name is Fernando Gallegos, and he was just sent to prison for the rest of his life for killing Gordon Stine by stabbing him in the neck ... and this wasn't his first brush with the law. From the RGJ:

... Deputy District Attorney Zach Young said five felony convictions, one involving an ice pick and another a stabbing with a nail, on top of Stine's murder, should be more than enough to send Gallegos to prison for the rest of his life.

Yeah, that should do it. Five felonies and a stabbing fetish places you squarely in the realm or "unproductive member of society."

(LasVegasNow; RGJ)

O.J. CliffsNotes

For those of you unable to watch or attend, here is a quick recap of today's O.J. Sentencing:

David Roger: Argued his case, sat down.

Gabriel Grasso: Said something about the civil war. Is possibly retarded.

Yale Galanter: Called his client "stupid." A lot.

O.J. Simpson: Spoke, but did not admit to the 1994 murders.

Brent Bryson: Handed his time over to Charles D. Jones (wisely).

Charles D. Jones: Did his best Johnnie Cochran impersonation. Continually referred to David Roger as "Mister Rogers."

C.J. Stewart: Made a valiant attempt to read his statement. Failed.

Judge Jackie Glass: Cool as a cucumber, very articulate & reasoned. Did not appear to let the hype affect her judgement (unfortunately). Good on ya, Judge. Update: Transcript of Glass' comments.

The Sentence: Will take a while to figure out. What we do know is that it is more than 5 years, but less than 21. Some reports have the minimum at 9, some have it at 15, some say it's 18. Whatever. He's going away for a while.

He will apparently be in solitary confinement for the entire time. So whatever the sentence, it is sure to feel like double.