Columnist Jeff German: Sandoval plays the name game

Friday, Oct. 10, 2003 | 11:21 a.m.

You may not have noticed it yet, but Attorney General Brian Sandoval has changed the name of his office.

He has added "Nevada Department of Justice" to the office's logo.

Sandoval's spokesman, Tom Sargent, says the AG quietly has been phasing in the prestigious new name. Several months ago, the NDOJ logo appeared on the office's website, and within the last three weeks, it has been included on news releases.

Sargent swears that the name-change to NDOJ hasn't cost the office a dime and that Sandoval is determined not to hit the taxpayers with any bills. The attorney general plans to add the new logo to his office stationery and paraphernalia as new supplies are ordered.

The makeover, Sargent says, is aimed at boosting employee morale, redefining the office's mission and giving the office a more professional look.

I'll bet it makes our first-term attorney general feel a little more important, too.

Though the new name sounds impressive, the reality is that it is nothing more than an illusion that has potential to create confusion about the office's role in state government.

Nevada law, you see, doesn't give the attorney general's office authority to act as a real justice department with sweeping law enforcement powers like the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington. So no matter what Sandoval calls his office, he won't be running a real justice department until the Legislature grants him that power.

The U.S. Department of Justice oversees the likes of such crime-fighting agencies as the FBI, DEA and ATF, all of which play lead roles in countless high-profile criminal investigations across the country.

California has a Department of Justice, but like the feds it also has a variety of investigative units that enable it to be a leading law enforcement agency in that state.

There are no bona fide law enforcement agencies under Sandoval's supervision. The best he can boast of is a small Bureau of Consumer Protection, which has authority to investigate cases of consumer fraud.

If anything, the Nevada Department of Public Safety, which is part of Gov. Kenny Guinn's administration, can stake a better claim to the NDOJ title. This department at least oversees some law enforcement agencies, including the Nevada Highway Patrol and the state Investigations Division.

For the most part the attorney general's office is empowered to provide legal opinions to state agencies and represent Nevada in civil litigation. Once in a while it will prosecute a state official who has broken the law.

But calling the office the Department of Legal Opinions doesn't have as good a ring as Department of Justice.

Lorne Malkiewich, chief of the Legislative Counsel Bureau in Carson City, says there is nothing in state law prohibiting Sandoval from changing the name of his office as long as the word "attorney general" remains part of it.

That means Sandoval can keep the illusion going until the public gets wise to it.

On the other hand, if the attorney general wants the public to have a real department of justice, with real investigative powers, he always has the option of going to the Legislature to ask for the authority to do it.