Judges face conflict in courthouse project

Jeff Schweers and Bill Gang

Wednesday, April 29, 1998 | 10:03 a.m.

Clark County District Judge Kathy Hardcastle has recused herself from an eminent domain case to acquire land for the Regional Justice Center to "avoid the appearance of conflict."

Hardcastle told the judges in a bench conference Tuesday morning that it would be inappropriate for her to hear the case because she sits with other district judges on a technical committee for the justice center project.

Hardcastle said the judicial canon of ethics prevents her from any further comment on the pending case.

"A judge has a right, sometimes a duty, to recuse if there is even an appearance of impropriety," said Thomas Beatty, a lawyer representing the firm of Barker, Brown, Busby and Sutherland. The firm is a tenant at 430 S. Third St., the building the county wants to condemn.

John Netzorg, the lawyer for property owner Joseph Gould, said the building involved in the case, formerly the Chicago Title Co. Building, is irreplaceable because no other one-story office building will be allowed under a new city planning policy.

The case will go to the county clerk's office to be reassigned to one of the other district judges -- all of whom technically have a stake in the case since it impacts their future home.

"Each judge will have to determine if they can fairly and impartially hear this case," Beatty said. "This puts everyone in a difficult position."

Clark County has already acquired most of the Rainbow Vegas block -- two blocks south of the existing courthouse -- for the justice center through a deal with the city of Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency, which bought the property for $720,000.

But the county must acquire several privately owned parcels on the block through condemnation proceedings, including Gould's building.

Netzorg has raised objections about the procedures the county has followed in its attempt to take the property.

But Beatty's concern is that a July 31 eviction date doesn't give his clients enough time to find a compatible place to relocate and he wants more time -- especially since construction isn't set to begin for another 18 months.

"They are a longtime local firm with 50 attorneys and employees at an excellent location for them and they, like many other businesses, are being displaced," Beatty said.

"The issue anyone has in that circumstance is: can you find comparable location on comparable terms?" Beatty asked. "And if you can't, can you get compensation that makes up the difference in what you had to go through?"

His clients have known about the impending eviction for several months, but have been unable to find a new location downtown.

"You're going to find nothing is truly comparable today," Beatty said. "That's the crux of the problem."