Supreme Court candidates questioned about legislature

Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2004 | 9:21 a.m.

Only two of four Nevada Supreme Court Seat A candidates showed up for a forum Monday night at the Sahara Library, but the Las Vegas Valley citizens who turned out had plenty of questions for them.

Probate Commissioner Don Ashworth and Family Court Judge Cynthia Dianne Steel fielded questions from an audience of 10 for almost two hours.

Those attending the forum wondered about recent Supreme Court decisions and how the candidates felt about upholding the state constitution.

Both candidates vowed to abide by the constitution and they also each said that they disagreed with the Nevada Supreme Court's decision last year to take up the question of whether the Legislature could pass a state budget in without the two-thirds majority vote required by the Nevada Constitution.

Ashworth and Steel said they would have rejected the plea by Gov. Kenny Guinn to settle the matter.

"I would have said, respectfully, that we were not going to get involved," Steel said.

Ashworth, a 60-year resident of Nevada who served in the Nevada Senate, said that it was the first time in history that the school appropriations bill had been pushed to the end of a legislative session.

"All matters that raised taxes should have been done first," Ashworth said. "If you did that, you wouldn't have a problem."

Steel said the state's high court should have sent the question back to the Legislature. "The Legislature has to face their constituents," she said.

"The Supreme Court is not in charge of the government," Steel said.

Steel also said as a Supreme Court judge she would review cases in an appropriate amount of time. Decisions by the court should be "easy to understand and accurate."

Both candidates said they would follow Nevada's law governing the death penalty for juveniles and would protect a citizen's right to own a gun while preventing a convicted felon of carrying one.

Chief District Court Judge Jim Hardesty was working in Reno Monday and could not make the panel, a spokeswoman for the judge said.

Candidate Kevin Mirch did not respond to the Charleston Neighborhood Preservation's invitation to attend the forum nor did he send any background information, said Juanita Clark, the moderator.