The Reasonable Reporter

Originally Published on NevadaNewsmakers.com, 5/13/2007 12:31:27 PM

Assemblyman William Horne (D, Clark 34) is an attorney who works in criminal defense. He’s been promoting a bill that would prohibit a district attorney from taking a “bite of the apple” in criminal prosecutions.

Persuasive argument in favor of this prohibition requires expertise in criminal law. But dwell, if you will, on the simple notion the government should get one shot at sending a citizen to trail in a criminal matter. One shot. Prosecutors are supposed to take a suspect either to a preliminary hearing, or to the grand jury. One or the other, not both, according to testimony on AB 364 by proponents.

If the preliminary hearing fails to produce enough evidence to send a suspect to trial, that’s supposed to be the end of the matter. The prosecutor is not granted an automatic second chance, by taking the same suspect to the grand jury – where, we are told, a ham sandwich can be indicted. Nonetheless, in certain Nevada counties, the grand jury process is being regularly employed as a routine backup procedure in case the prelim is unsuccessful.

Assemblyman Horne’s bill is AB 364. As of this moment, it appears the bill may not make it, not because Horne is wrong, but for lack of support from jurisdictions where regular abuse does not occur.

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The state forks over $6- 10 million per year in credit card fees. This is the cost of convenience for taxpayers. The figure was thrown out in the course of discussion about SB 517, which would require payments over $10,000 to be paid by electronic transfer. The proposed law would create some efficiencies and lower the payment cost for large transactions. (Think registration for a vehicle fleet, or sales tax payment from a retailer.) But the expense to the state may not change a lot even if the bill passes. Many transactions generating credit card fee are much smaller than $10,000. (Think individual DMV transactions.) The figures are instructive on many levels, in contemplating the process of tax collection.

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Senator Barbara Cegavske ( R, Clark 8 ) is the only female Republican in the Senate. What’s it like to be the lone woman in a conference room full of Republican testosterone? The Reasonable Reporter envisions a range of possibilities. a) They treat her like a sister; b) they treat her like one of the guys; c) they treat her like a space alien; d) they treat her like a fragile flower.

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Tags: AB-364, Barbara Cegavske, SB-517, William Horne

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