High court rules in favor of former CCSN administrator

Friday, Jan. 18, 2002 | 10:48 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court today refused to reinstate a gross misdemeanor charge of nepotism against Orlando Sandoval, a former administrator at the Community College of Southern Nevada.

The court said District Court Judge Donald Mosley ruled correctly when he granted a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in favor of Sandoval, accused of giving favored treatment to his father-in-law, Duane Stevens, who was an employee at the college.

The court said, "Our review of the record supports the District Court's finding that the grand jury was improperly influenced by the written college policy materials, causing the grand jury to inappropriately infer probable cause for the criminal offense from the prosecutor's assertions that Sandoval merely violated college policy."

The decision said the state attorney general's office, in its presentation to the grand jury, demonstrated that Sandoval's father-in-law worked in Sandoval's department and that Sandoval may have played some role in helping his father in-law renew his annual employment contract.

"However, as the District Court observed, the prosecutor did not show a sufficient link between the written policy (the college) and the criminal statute to demonstrate any criminal culpability on Sandoval's part," said the court.

The attorney general's office maintained that Stevens received two promotions and a series of salary increases, based on Sandoval's recommendations.

Mosley in October ruled that Senior Deputy Attorney General Brian Kunzi was wrong when he gave grand jurors a copy of the college's policy on nepotism. The judge said the jurors could have jumped to the conclusion that because Sandoval violated college policy, he must have broken the law.

Sandoval was associate vice president of planning for the community college, but left that job to take a post at the fledgling state college in Henderson. He has since left that post because the school cannot fund his salary. Kunzi said he is considering asking the Supreme Court to re-consider its decision. However, if the move fails, the case is finished, based on the statute of limitation. "We got the case late from the university," he said.

Neither Sandoval nor his lawyer, Frank Cremen, could be reached for comment.