Mack’s attorney challenges city ethics law

Diana Sahagun

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 | 9:22 a.m.

Attorney Richard Wright has filed a motion in Las Vegas Municipal Court to dismiss criminal charges against Las Vegas Councilman Michael Mack, arguing that the city overstepped its bounds when it created an ethics ordinance.

In a motion filed Tuesday, Wright argues that the case should be thrown out for several reasons -- that the city's ethics code violates state statute, that the statute of limitations has run out, and that District Court has already ruled in Mack's favor.

Municipal Judge Bert Brown will hear arguments May 14. Attorney John Graves Jr., who is prosecuting Mack on behalf of the Las Vegas Ethics Review Board, must respond to Wright's motion by April 23.

The criminal complaint filed by the ethics board, which accuses Mack of violating the city's ethics code on five occasions, relies on the ordinance approved by the City Council, which was recently amended to add more teeth.

The charges stem from Mack's votes last summer to postpone -- and ultimately deny -- a car dealership application proposed by John Staluppi Jr., without disclosing he owed money to a rival car dealer.

In his motion to dismiss, Wright argues that the Legislature did not give the city authority to enact an ordinance that criminalizes unethical behavior.

In 1973 the Legislature enacted NRS 268.018, which permitted a city to establish a misdemeanor only if the offense is a misdemeanor under Nevada law.

Under that limiting authority, a municipality could not create an ordinance that establishes a city misdemeanor if the state of Nevada did not also make the conduct a misdemeanor, according to the motion.

The Legislature later enacted a statute as part of its ethics laws, which allowed municipalities to create a local ethics commission to complement the Nevada Ethics Commission.

Wright argues that the city violated statute when it created the city's ethics code in 1993, which made it a misdemeanor for a violation of the code.

"The city created a localized ethics commission with more power and authority than that authorized by the Nevada legislature," according to the motion.

According to statute, the Nevada Ethics Commission is authorized to impose civil penalties, including fines, impeachment, and removal from office if an official is found to have violated the state code of ethics.

Wright also contends that the city's ethics board doesn't have the power to rule on officials' past behavior because by statute the members can only establish a code of ethical standards, require public officials to file disclosure forms, or render an opinion about the future conduct of a public official.

Wright also argues that in October, District Judge Sally Loehrer ruled that while Mack's actions may be classified as "incredibly unethical," they do not rise to the level of malfeasance.