Letter: Nevada’s judges should not be above the law

Thursday, July 27, 2006 | 7:40 a.m.

Nevada judges accused of wrongdoing are above the law, whether they were meant to be or it just happened that way. Deciding a complaint against them takes years and, if no charges are made, the decision remains secret. Who else gets that lofty treatment?

The Las Vegas Sun's July 21 editorial, "Judging the judges," makes clear that complaints against judges should be promptly resolved and the result publicly released, not kept secret.

We citizens should call on the Nevada State Bar, the Nevada Supreme Court, the Commission on Judicial Discipline and the Nevada Legislature to work together toward solving this delay and secrecy. These entities also could lift the cloud of doubt hanging over our state judiciary that, quite unfairly, causes skepticism toward those judges who are honest and highly capable.

They could also shorten the time of deciding a case against guilty or truly innocent judges. Retired from 40 years of law practice in Las Vegas, I found most judges were completely honest, highly capable and hardworking. But those accused of wrong must promptly and publicly be punished or found innocent.

Fellow citizens, let's write letters and make phone calls to our lawyers and legislators that the time has come to amend this faulty law. The Los Angeles Times exposes and the Sun editorial shows that the law as now written allows judges to be above it. Justice delayed and secret is justice denied.

Paul L. Larsen, Las Vegas