Former Clark Prosecutor to Face Drug Charges

Tuesday, Dec. 3, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Del Papa said the possession charge, punishable by up to four years in prison, will be filed against Steven Hill on Tuesday in Las Vegas Justice Court.

"Sufficient evidence supports the accusations ... to warrant prosecution with a felony charge under the circumstances of this case," she said. "Any citizen similarly accused with the same amount of evidence would face comparable charges."

Hill, driving his white Corvette and accompanied by a known prostitute, was stopped in mid-October by officers who found a small quantity of rock cocaine in an ashtray.

Immediately after the incident, District Attorney Stewart Bell said Hill was entering a drug rehabilitation program and resigning from his job,

Because Hill worked in Bell's office, the case was turned over to the attorney general for a decision on whether criminal charges should be filed.

Hill's career as a Clark County prosecutor is over, but it remains to be seen whether his career as an attorney also will end.

The State Bar of Nevada, which licenses and supervises attorneys, will have to determine if disciplinary action is warranted. Discipline can be a private or public reprimand, a suspension or disbarment.

If convicted of a felony, it is almost an automatic suspension for a lawyer.

Hill is expected to contest the possession charge on grounds that the police conducted an unlawful search of the car or because the drugs could have been put there by the prostitute.

She reportedly had been left alone in the vehicle while Hill was being questioned outside.