Panel urges trigger for disqualification
A commission examining judicial reform recommended Monday that Nevada judges should be disqualified from cases if parties appearing before them arranged for the contribution of $50,000 or more toward their campaigns.
The Commission on the Amendment to the Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct will include the recommendation in a report that will be given to the Nevada Supreme Court justices.
The commission of judges, lawyers and others met Monday to discuss a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said elected judges must step aside when huge campaign contributions create an appearance of bias.
The case, Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal, centered on a West Virginia Supreme Court justice who remained involved in a lawsuit filed against a company that was a generous campaign contributor.
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Caperton case, the state Supreme Court ordered the commission to examine the ruling's effect on Nevada's judiciary.
Jeffrey Stempel, a commission member and law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in June proposed several recommendations, including automatic disqualification if a judge receives $50,000 or more from a party during a campaign.
In Nevada, individuals can contribute no more than $10,000 to a judicial candidate. The proposed $50,000 cap is meant to address "bundling," a practice in which individuals follow campaign contribution limits by funneling donations through relatives or corporate entities.
Stempel recommended that individuals not be permitted to contribute money to a judge's campaign in an attempt to have him or her disqualified from a case.
Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara @reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
