Complaint filed against three Supreme Court justices

Friday, May 15, 1998 | 3:29 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A complaint charging that three justices of the Nevada Supreme Court withheld public information has been filed with the state Judicial Discipline Commission by a former court employee.

Donald Mello, who was terminated in 1997 as head of the state Administrative Office of the Court, names Justices Miriam Shearing, Robert Rose and Cliff Young as allegedly stopping the release of the information.

Complaints filed with the discipline commission are traditionally confidential. But copies of the Mello complaint were distributed to reporters in the state capitol. Those involved cannot comment.

Mello said in his complaint that he asked the court to supply copies of cases appealed to the Supreme Court from District Judge Deborah Agosti of Reno, who made the rulings. He said there is a close friendship between Agosti and Justice Shearing.

But he said his request for this public information has been ignored. Mello believes Shearing, Rose and Young, ordered the clerk of the Supreme Court not to respond.

He said he wants to examine whether a bias exists towards upholding the decision of Agosti by the Supreme Court.

It was Shearing, Rose and Young who decided to bounce Mello from his job last year.

He said only a small percentages of the decisions are published opinions. There are up to 1,500 cases a year in which decisions are made by simple order. If he can show a bias, Mello said it would damage the chances of Agosti to be elected this time to the Supreme Court. And it would hurt the chances of Shearing.

Mello said that if he can show there's been a bias on the Supreme Court to upholding the decisions of Agosti, that would open the floodgates "for all of the litigants who lost cases in her (Agosti's) court and to request that their cases be reheard by the Nevada Supreme Court."

Agosti is running for the Supreme Court in this election to replace Charles Springer. Justice Shearing is up for re-election to a second term but has not had any opposition so far.