High court to hear Heller lawsuit

Tuesday, April 6, 2004 | 11:17 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court today ordered the Legislature to respond within 30 days to a lawsuit that seeks to determine whether state workers may serve in the Legislature.

Chief Justice Miriam Shearing signed an order that shows the court will consider the suit brought by Secretary of State Dean Heller.

Shearing said it appears Heller "has set forth issues of arguable merit and that petitioner (Heller) may have no plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law."

Heller's petition for a writ of mandamus was filed Friday by Attorney General Brian Sandoval, who asked for speedy consideration by the court. He noted the political filing season opens May 3 and closes May 14.

Sandoval earlier issued a legal opinion that said the separation of powers doctrine in the Nevada Constitution prohibits a state government worker or an employee of the University and Community College System of Nevada from also serving in the Legislature.

State and university employees who could be affected are Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, a political science professor for University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas and Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, who both work for the Community College of Southern Nevada; Assemblyman Ron Knecht, R-Carson City, who works for the state Public Utilities Commission; and Assemblyman Jason Geddes, R-Reno, an employee of the University of Nevada, Reno.

Sandoval said he did not find the same prohibition against local government and school district employees. But the suit asks the court to rule on that as well.

The Legislative Counsel Bureau, which will represent the legislators, has issued two legal opinions in the past that differ with Sandoval. The bureau found that public employees could serve in the Legislature without violating the separation of powers principles in the state Constitution.

Giunchigliani said it will be up to Brenda Erdoes, chief attorney for the Legislature, to answer the lawsuit and advance the argument that the Legislature is the judge of its own members. She said that is also a requirement of the Constitution.

She added that the affected members may have to hire their own lawyers to put forth their individual cases. Giunchigliani said the attorney general has come up with a different interpretation of the law on the separation of powers.

She said the lawmakers in question had no control over the functions of the executive branch of government. She said that interpretation has been in existence for 37 years.