Magistrate finds ethics panel fine unconstitutional

Monday, Aug. 13, 2001 | 10:47 a.m.

The Nevada Ethics Commission on Thursday will discuss a U.S. magistrate's opinion that in effect says the agency is not the "truth police" and cannot fine those who bring allegedly unfounded complaints against public officials.

U.S. Magistrate Valerie Cooke of Reno ruled Aug. 6 it was unconstitutional for the commission to fine a Reno man $5,000 for filing a complaint that the commission determined was unfounded.

"It is not the job of the Ethics Commission to stifle the criticisms of public officials -- no government agency should serve as the truth police," said Alan Lichtenstein of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, which brought the case to federal court.

Ethics Commission Executive Director Polly Hamilton declined to comment on the magistrate's decision, saying only that the full board will discuss it at a 10 a.m. public hearing at the Sawyer State Office Building on Washington Avenue.

The case stems from a letter Sam Dehne wrote on March 26, 1999, to the commission that alleged Reno Mayor Jeff Griffin was involved in a conflict of interest. The commission ruled there was no conflict and fined Dehne for bringing forth an unfounded claim.

Dehne is a frequent filer of complaints against Reno city officials.

Cooke, in granting summary judgment for Dehne, ruled in her 14-page opinion that the Nevada laws "are unconstitutional both on their face and as applied to plaintiff Dehne. These statutes are also unconstitutionally over broad, and they violate due process."

She recommended that U.S. District Judge David Hagen of Reno issue a permanent injunction to prevent the Ethics Commission from enforcing the statutes. Hagen has yet to issue his ruling on the matter.