Legal experts say Metro should withdraw from investigation

Sam Skolnik and Steve Kanigher

Saturday, Nov. 4, 2006 | 7:25 a.m.

He is an avowed supporter of Jim Gibbons, the Republican candidate for governor. He has implied that Chrissy Mazzeo has political motivations for accusing Gibbons of assault.

Yet despite those statements, Clark County Sheriff Bill Young is spearheading the investigation into Mazzeo's claims.

Prominent national legal ethics experts say Young and, by extension, Metro Police, have no business leading the effort. The problem is perception. The public needs to know that no one involved in the investigation has ties to the principals in the case.

"He should recuse himself from this inquiry and pass it on to the attorney general," said Robert Fellmeth, director of the Center for Public Interest Law at the University of San Diego School of Law. "It's not just wrong, it's stupid. He might be right - there's nothing there. But who's going to believe him?"

Young, a Republican, told the Sun on Oct. 20 that the incident hadn't diminished his support for Gibbons in his campaign against Democrat Dina Titus. He suggested that Mazzeo's claims were politically motivated.

"I believe in Jim Gibbons," said Young, who had telephoned the candidate the morning after the incident with Mazzeo to tell him that Metro Police investigators were coming to question him. "I am still voting for Jim Gibbons, and I urge every Southern Nevadan to consider the political ramifications of this case - and the timing."

Based on Young's statements and his ties to figures potentially involved in the case, including Gibbons' campaign adviser Sig Rogich, Young should disqualify himself and his department, legal experts said.

Erwin Chemerinsky of Duke University law school said, "It's a pretty unique situation, but it appears there's a need for another law enforcement agency to come in."

David Rudovsky of the University of Pennsylvania law school agreed. "In my experience, where there has been a conflict, the state attorney general would take the case."

Rudovsky, Chemerinsky and Fellmeth said their first choice was placing the investigation in the hands of the attorney general. They also listed two alternatives: District Attorney David Roger or the U.S. Justice Department.

But when called by the Sun, none of those agencies seemed eager to take on the politically charged case.

Roger, a Republican who also has Rogich as an adviser, said he had confidence in Young and Metro to conduct the investigation properly and thoroughly. Asked about his own ties to Republicans and Rogich, he said: "Our office is apolitical. We don't choose our victims and we don't choose our defendants. I have prosecuted people of the same party, the same political party.

"We're going to base, (and) I'm sure Metro is going to base its case on the facts of the case and not the status of the individuals."

The federal government, through either the FBI or the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, could open an investigation but almost always does so only when the allegations are very serious or stem from long-term concerns about prosecutorial or police misconduct or abuse.

David Staretz, a spokesman for the FBI's Las Vegas field office, said that the bureau saw no federal criminal violations that would warrant its intervention - but he said the agency was watching the case.

Cynthia Magnuson, a Justice Department spokeswoman in Washington, said the agency's Civil Rights Division had not opened any preliminary inquiry related to the Gibbons-Mazzeo matter or the investigation into it.

As for the state, Attorney General George Chanos told the Sun that he had confidence in Young and Roger. "I'm not going to second-guess them," he said.

Nevada voters will elect a new attorney general Tuesday. Both candidates told the Sun they would consider using the attorney general's office to conduct an independent investigation.

"Yes, to be fair to everybody, it is something I would consider," said Don Chairez, the Republican candidate. He noted there is recent precedent for such intervention, citing Chanos' decision last year to call for an independent investigation of the land deal involving Royal Links Golf Club owner Bill Walters and Las Vegas after Roger's office determined that it did not have enough evidence to pursue a case.

"The attorney general should wait and see if the district attorney does anything," Chairez said. "If he doesn't, then I think the attorney general should step in."

Catherine Cortez Masto, the Democratic candidate, was more deferential. She said that because Roger has decided to look at the case, it would not be appropriate for the attorney general to get involved at this time.

"As attorney general, I want to have a good working relationship with the district attorneys," Cortez Masto said. "At the point where a district attorney has a conflict of interest, then the attorney general by statute can prosecute the case."

Although Cortez Masto is a Democrat, she has several ties to the Gibbons camp. Greg Ferraro, a Reno Republican lobbyist working for Gibbons, is an adviser to Cortez Masto. Rogich has served as an unpaid adviser.

At his Oct. 26 press conference, Young defended his remarks about the case and vowed to conduct an independent, vigorous investigation.

Young said that as a precaution against charges of a conflict of interest, he had not spoken with anyone outside his department who is involved in the investigation, with the exception of the call he placed to Gibbons the morning after the incident to tell him that Metro investigators would be questioning him that day.

"Yes, I believe the department is a credible agency, and I'd stake my reputation on it," said Young, a career police officer who is stepping down as sheriff because he said he doesn't like the politics involved in his job.

Sun reporter J. Patrick Coolican contributed to this story.