Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2004 | 11:09 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Controller Kathy Augustine, with her career on the line, says she "has no idea" what is going to happen when the Legislature convenes in a historic special session today to consider impeaching her for misconduct in office.
Augustine, now in her second term, says she won't be at the opening day of the session but her attorneys will be present to begin her defense. She said she will attend a meeting of the state Board of Finance, scheduled to begin one hour before the Legislature opens.
The lawmakers convened today with the new members being sworn in by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Miriam Shearing.
Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said he didn't know how long it will take for the Assembly to decide whether to impeach Augustine for allowing her staff to do campaign work on state time. The charges come from the state Ethics Commission.
"She confessed to three violations," Perkins said. "She signed a stipulation."
Perkins said he did "not expect a long process" in the Assembly to determine if there is sufficient cause for articles of impeachment.
"It will take a few days and we will do it as quickly as possible," Perkins said.
He said lawyers for Augustine and the state Attorney General's Office will not be allowed to cross-examine witnesses. But he said he may ask both sides for some closing arguments before the Assembly debates the impeachment. Talking to reporters before the Legislature convened today, Perkins said he was not sure whether the Legislature would seek to force Augustine to pay for part of the proceedings. The Senate will introduce SB-1, the bill to appropriate $250,000 to cover the cost of the session, and the bill will then be passed in both houses today.
If the Assembly decides on articles of impeachment, Perkins said he would name a committee of three to carry them to the Senate. The three would be from Northern Nevada, allowing the Clark County legislators to go home early. The Senate would then convene to receive them.
He said the lawmakers will forego their usual allowance for postage and telephone calls. The Assembly will probably start to hear witnesses this afternoon and meet early Thursday to continue the process.
After the ceremonial work in the morning, the Senate will go home and wait for the Assembly to act. If the Assembly votes to impeach, a trial will be held in the Senate.
Perkins said the Assembly will confer with defense lawyers and the state Attorney General's Office on how long will be needed to present the case. He compared the process to a grand jury hearing or a preliminary hearing in justice court to determine if there is enough evidence for the Senate to hold a trial.
But, Perkins also noted: "This is a legislative hearing, not a court."
There will not be a special prosecutor and the Attorney General's Office will not present the case in the Assembly. The 42-members of the house, which will convert itself into a committee of the whole with Perkins presiding, will have the right to question the witnesses.
Perkins said the hearing should begin late Wednesday or early Thursday morning.
Two of the key witnesses will be Jeannine Coward, former deputy under Augustine, and Jennifer Normington, former administrative assistant to the controller. Both told investigators for the attorney general's office that campaign work during the 2002 election was done on state time with Augustine's knowledge. And the state's computer was used to track financial contributions and other data, they have said.
Coward and Normington said they have not been subpoenaed but have been told by the attorney general's office to be ready to testify.
Augustine said Tuesday that she "told them (the workers in her state office )to do it on their own time. They admitted that's what they were told."
Coward said she was happy to hear the Assembly was going to conduct the hearing like a committee session and "not turn this into a side show." She said she has prepared testimony and hopes that the Assembly members will ask her a lot of questions.
A representative of the state Ethics Commission will probably testify about how the commission handled the complaint against Augustine, officials side. Under the settlement, she was fined $15,000 and now faces removal from office if found guilty in the Senate.
Dominic Gentile, Augustine's Las Vegas lawyer, had asked that the office of Attorney General Brian Sandoval be disqualified from acting as prosecutor because of an alleged conflict of interest.
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