High court critical of regents’ actions

Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2003 | 11:16 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- University regents face an uphill fight trying to convince the state Supreme Court they didn't violate the state's open-meeting law when they discussed a report critical of how UNLV police conducted a campus drug raid.

During oral arguments today, justices suggested some regents strayed from the agenda item in their Las Vegas meeting in September 2001.

Justice Nancy Becker said Regent Doug Hill of Reno "went beyond what was on the agenda" and discussed in detail the confidential report of the conduct of the UNLV police.

District Judge Bill Maddox had granted a summary judgment in favor of the regents, but Deputy Attorney General Tina Leiss asked the Supreme Court to overturn that finding.

Leiss said the regents were warned three times by counsel Tom Ray to stick to the topic on the agenda, which was a general discussion of how reports should be made public.

But Brooke Nielsen, assistant general counsel for the university system, said the regents discussed how the highly critical report could be released.

Hill said the raid involved 10 to 12 campus police and two Metro Police officers and that officers kicked in two doors, handcuffed six students and the dorm adviser. Only a minor amount of illegal drugs was found.

The court took the arguments under submission and will rule later.