Nye County district attorney faces disciplinary review after conviction

The Nevada Supreme Court has referred Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett to a state bar disciplinary board because of his conviction for reckless driving last year.

Beckett, 50, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor in March in San Bernardino County Superior Court in California. The plea came nine months after Beckett crashed two vehicles in six hours on the same stretch of highway.

According to a Supreme Court order filed Friday, Beckett reported his conviction to the State Bar of Nevada, which in turn reported it to the state's high court. Beckett's conviction does not require temporary suspension, and the Supreme Court declined to suspend him pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings.

"The crime is, however, one for which referral is within our discretion," according to the order.

Beckett, who has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 1988, totaled his county-issued sport utility vehicle in June 2008 in a single-vehicle rollover accident on California Route 127 just south of Shoshone.

After catching a ride back to his house in Pahrump in a tow truck, Beckett headed back out on the same highway in the family van, only to crash again about 35 miles south of the first accident scene.

The California Highway Patrol officer who responded to the second crash reported smelling alcohol on Beckett's breath. Beckett faced a drunken-driving charge after he failed a breath test at the scene, but the charge was dropped as part of his plea agreement, which did not result in jail time.

"We conclude that under these circumstances, it is appropriate to refer this matter to a panel of the state bar disciplinary board for determination of the discipline, if any, to impose," according to the Supreme Court order.

Beckett has been Nye County's district attorney for the past 15 years. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday on the Supreme Court order.