Three lawyers pursue post as Clark County’s top prosecutor

The three finalists for Clark County district attorney have experience with prosecution and defense.

On Tuesday, Drew Christensen, county director of appointed counsel; John Hunt, former Clark County Democratic Party chairman; and Steve Wolfson, a Las Vegas city councilman and defense lawyer, will stand before the County Commission to argue one of the more important cases of their careers: Why each would be the best candidate to direct the local pursuit of justice.

The one chosen to complete the term of former District Attorney David Roger will face the challenge of determining the prosecutor's role in the coroner's inquest process and investigations into fatal police shootings. He also will have to define his approach to the death penalty and build support in the community and on the commission to seek a full, elected term as the county's top prosecutor.

The finalists will be vetted Tuesday as they make five-minute presentations to commissioners and answer questions. Members of the public will have an opportunity to provide input. Commissioner Susan Brager plans to request a special meeting the week of Jan. 23 to decide the appointment.

Commissioners agree the new district attorney will need to better communicate with them and boost low office morale.

Roger surprised the legal community by retiring Jan. 3 with three years remaining in his third term.

The district attorney manages a $65 million budget and more than 700 employees, including 150 deputy district attorneys who handle about 65,000 cases annually. The criminal division of the office prosecutes all felony crimes and many misdemeanors. In 2010, the office filed more than 22,420 felony cases and 32,678 misdemeanor charges.

The job pays $182,100 a year. According to county figures, Roger earned a base salary of $202,689 in 2010.

ABOUT THE FINALISTS

The three men vying to succeed Roger have decades of criminal law experience. Each has said, if appointed, they intend to seek election in 2015.

Wolfson served as a county prosecutor and in the U.S. attorney's office before settling into private practice in 1987. He is married to former Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass, who replaced Nancy Grace on the syndicated television show "Swift Justice."

His budget management skills were tested as a Las Vegas city councilman. He helped cut $115 million over the past three fiscal years, experience he would bring to the district attorney's office. He's the only candidate to ever win an election, Wolfson added.

"We all want the same thing, for the system to be fair and efficient," he said.

As for negatives, some in the legal community have criticized Wolfson as aloof.

"If I come off as being aloof, I don't mean to be," Wolfson said. "If you ask people who have worked with me in the city as a city councilman or judges and people in the DA's office, I think that I do have good working relationships with folks."

Christensen had experience as both a prosecutor and a public defender before he became county director of appointed counsel, an office he helped create in 2008. The office selects private attorneys to represent indigent defendants. Christensen's wife, Nell Keenan, is a prosecutor in the district attorney's office.

The commissioners don't know his name very well, and he knows that, Christensen said, but he's confident he has what it takes to do the job.

"Ultimately, it's about providing justice," Christensen said.

As a young public defender, he represented Robert Hays, who served 14 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. In a 2007 ruling that freed Hays, federal judge Roger Hunt wrote that Christensen was "ineffective in a number of ways and that his actions were not guided by tactical or strategic analysis nor founded on well-reasoned determinations of how best to represent his client."

Christensen, who said this was one of his first cases as a public defender, added that he "takes that case with me all the time."

"It was a systematic error," he said. "I think it's somewhat unfair to point all the fingers at me. Were mistakes made? Sure. I think with any profession you're better years later. That's why they call it the practice of law. If you read Hunt's order, there were errors by the court, the district attorney and police, too."

John Hunt has spent nearly three decades in private law practice and has a wide breadth of experience in criminal, civil and family law.

He has an accounting degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and worked for the Gaming Control Board before law school. That gives Hunt an advantage in dealing with the budgetary issues facing the district attorney's office, he said.

When it comes to managing prosecutors and caseload, his policy would be to "seek justice, not win cases," Hunt said.

DEADLY FORCE AND THE INQUEST PROCESS

The role of the district attorney was thrust into the spotlight last year after a record number of fatal police shootings were stymied by a coroner's inquest process snarled in litigation.

Roger, who now is general counsel for the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, was scrutinized as district attorney by the public that elected him and the county officials who worked with him for his hands-off approach to the inquest process. The former district attorney wouldn't review an officer's use of deadly force unless the head of the police agency requested it.

While common practice for decades in Clark County, the prosecutor's hands-off policy was not widely known, even in the legal community, before a yearlong Review-Journal investigation into officer-involved shootings and the inquest process was published.

When asked for his opinion of the finalists, Roger declined to comment.

The future of the inquest process is intertwined with the selection of Roger's successor. Some commissioners want to wait until the new district attorney settles in before deciding what to do about the inquest process. In the meantime, the coroner's office is moving forward with some of the inquests, even though officers have vowed to appeal recent court rulings allowing the inquests to proceed.

If appointed, Christensen said he or a member of his staff would go to the scenes of officer-involved shootings.

"I support having an attorney or investigator at the scenes," Christensen said. "I'd have to look at resources, but it's an important topic. The district attorney needs to be more proactive on this issue."

Wolfson said he would want to be briefed on an officer's use of deadly force as soon as possible by the investigating agency. He also would require an investigative summary or package of reports to document the event.

"The district attorney should be made aware of what happened at this scene so he will have a basis for forming his own opinion (on) whether or not the officer's conduct was justified or not," Wolfson said. "I know that's something that isn't done now."

Hunt said he would have the district attorney's office conduct independent investigations of police shootings, a process that would start by having a prosecutor at the scene immediately after a shooting.

He would hold officers accountable if the facts of the shooting deem it necessary, he said. "I'll never try to second guess a police officer, but I have the courage to hold them accountable when they're basically rogue."

DEATH PENALTY CASES

The commission blasted Roger for seeking the death penalty more often than prosecutors in other counties. There are about 80 pending death penalty cases -- more than double that of Los Angeles County, which has 29 pending death penalty cases and five times Clark County's population.

The finalists said they would be more judicious in deciding when to pursue the death penalty.

Wolfson said capital punishment should be reserved for "the worst of the worst."

"If I become the district attorney, there will be different criteria for whether or not to seek the death penalty," Wolfson said. "It won't just be black and white. You have to think of the practical consequences, such as the cost to taxpayers. I'm not going to disregard the families of murder victims, but I think part of the job of the district attorney is to educate the families about the practicalities of these decisions and include what they have to say in the dialogue."

Christensen said he agreed cost considerations need to be considered in deciding when to seek the death penalty.

Hunt was also sensitive to the climbing number and costs of death penalty cases. He said he would reserve the ultimate punishment for defendants who showed a "depraved indifference to life."

He is also researching whether he can add a layman to the committee of prosecutors that decides which cases deserve the death penalty.

WHAT COMMISSIONERS WANT

When it comes to selecting the next district attorney, commissioners have said they will consider each finalist's views on the coroner's inquest process, the death penalty, child support back payments, and budget and office management.

All seem to agree a good communicator who can do more with less is crucial.

Commissioner Tom Collins is familiar with Democrats Wolfson and Hunt, candidates, he said, who "would make great appointments." He does not know Republican Christensen, a common refrain among the seven Democratic commissioners. But the commission won't just automatically select a Democrat, either, Collins said.

"We want someone who can do the job in a good way by not being too close to cops or certain groups," Collins said. "Someone who looks at cases and treats them all the same. Does a poor person get represented just as well as somebody that can hire the best lawyers? Are they pro- or anti-labor? Are they fair to cops? Fairness and equal justice -- who has the management skills and the experience to shed a positive light over the DA's office in the next three years?"

Commissioner Mary Beth Scow said she will weigh each candidate's approach to fair solutions for justice. Scow would not specify which candidate she supports. She's trying to "keep an open mind to be really objective."

She also would like to further explore the district attorney's role in the use of specialty courts.

Her views on alternative methods mirror those of candidate Christensen, who vows to strengthen the district attorney's presence in specialty courts.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said she wants someone who can boost office morale and do away with a previously imposed "five trial rule," a reference to an alleged quota for prosecutors to meet in seeking raises or promotions.

"In my opinion, it was ir­responsible of the DA's office not to recognize you're paying taxpayer dollars just to force somebody into trial you normally wouldn't need to instead of focusing on bad people," Giunchigliani said.

Commissioner Steve Sisolak said he wants someone who can "make difficult decisions without fear of how it's going to play out politically. Someone who will make a tough decision because it's the right one to make."

Contact reporter Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@review journal.com or 702-455-4519. Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281.