Sheriff wants DA ousted in Esmeralda

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004 | 9:35 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Esmeralda County Sheriff Kenneth N. Elgan has filed a lawsuit seeking to remove Esmeralda District Attorney William E. Schaeffer from office for alleged neglect of duty.

The Nevada Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered District Judge John Davis removed from hearing the case. Schaeffer filed a peremptory challenge against Davis, who refused to step down.

The court granted Schaeffer's motion to disqualify Davis, but the court also said Davis acted properly in appointing a special prosecutor to carry the case against Schaeffer and it lifted the stay that had stopped further proceedings.

Elgan filed a complaint in District Court in August that alleged Schaeffer failed to act on numerous prosecutions and other duties. The suit says Schaeffer is guilty of malfeasance.

Elgan cites 10 cases in which arrests were made and Schaeffer failed to prosecute. In two other cases involving drunken driving, the sheriff said Schaeffer, in violation of the law, allowed defendants to either plead guilty or no contest to a lesser charge.

The sheriff said the other cases involved arrests for such crimes as auto theft, domestic violence, kidnapping, battery and drug possession. He said there was probable cause to prosecute the cases but the inaction of Schaeffer led to their dismissal.

Schaeffer, according to the suit, has missed a "substantial portion" of the meetings of the Esmeralda County Commission that he advises. The sheriff said Schaeffer also neglects to give legal advice to the sheriff and other county officials.

The suit also notes that Schaeffer gave his secretary a promotion and a raise despite a wage freeze enacted by the County Commission.

Schaeffer, a former district attorney in Eureka County, lives in Battle Mountain and could not be reached for comment. He is in his first term as Esmeralda County district attorney.