Justice reform sought

Thursday, Oct. 16, 1997 | 11:15 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A man who gives legal advice on a radio talk show in Las Vegas wants to amend the Nevada Constitution in order to reform the state's judicial system.

Jack Frem has filed notice with the secretary of state's office that he wants to put three constitutional amendments on the 1998 ballot.

To qualify the petitions necessary for such action, he must get 46,764 signatures of registered voters, a number that reflects 10 percent of the turnout in the November 1996 general election. The signatures must be gathered by June 16.

Frem, who works as a paralegal, has formed an organization called the "Justice Foundation of Nevada." In one of his proposed constitutional amendments, he says witnesses at trial often lie and prosecutors withhold information that would show a defendant is innocent. He wants to require that witnesses be wired to a voice stress analyzer when they testify.

He said the analyzer would show if the witness is lying. As it stands, he says, innocent people may be found guilty in courtrooms where prosecutors are more interested in getting convictions than in getting to the truth.

Another proposed constitutional amendment would provide that any judge who is reversed on appeal in excess of 5 percent of the time would automatically lose his office and be barred from further judicial duties for 10 years.

And he wants to establish an "Independent Paralegal Bar Association" that would not be controlled by the state or Nevada Bar Association.

The 57-year-old Frem says he graduated from Northrup University in Los Angeles with a law degree but has never taken the bar examination in California or Nevada.

"Everybody has had a bad experience," Frem says. "Either an attorney has ripped them off or a judge doesn't understand civil procedure."

Frem says he won't have a hard time gathering signatures. "People feel they have lost control of the system," he said.

Frem, who has been in Las Vegas since 1990, answers callers' legal questions during his talk show on KKVV 1060-AM.