2012 Voter Guide: North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace

Two attorneys with backgrounds in criminal law remain in the race to replace North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Stephen Dahl, who is not seeking re-election.

Private attorneys Kalani Hoo and Jonathan MacArthur emerged from a field of four candidates in the primary. They are vying for the Department 1 seat.

In late June, the State Bar of Nevada issued a letter of reprimand to MacArthur. The reprimand stemmed from a complaint by the Clark County district attorney's office that accused him of trying to bribe a witness to change his testimony in a criminal case.

The letter said a screening panel of lawyers found that MacArthur's conduct in the 2010 case violated several rules of professional conduct.

MacArthur did not appeal the reprimand, but he provided the following statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

"I have always conducted myself in an ethical and transparent manner. I believe that the false accusations made against me by the State's witness and the agents of former District Attorney David Roger were made solely for the purpose of gaining traction before my election to public office. Unfortunately, as a defense lawyer I will not always receive the same credibility as a prosecutor when fighting for justice. To be clear, I was up front with both the State's witness and the prosecutor on the case. I know of no one who would both seek to bribe a witness and notify the prosecutor two days in advance of his intentions. The accusation and the resulting letter of reprimand were unjust."

MacArthur also has been at the center of other controversies in recent years.

In 2007, he lost his job as a substitute judge in North Las Vegas Justice Court after then-District Attorney Roger complained about remarks on his Myspace Web page.

This August, the Nevada Supreme Court denied MacArthur's bid to overturn a judge's order holding him in contempt for refusing to defend a client at a child abuse trial.

District Judge Susan Johnson had fined MacArthur $500 and ordered him to pay the district attorney's office $7,060 for the time prosecutors spent preparing for the trial in 2011.

Hoo joined the Nevada bar in 1998. This is the first time he has run for office.

"I think I have the experience, the temperament, most of all, the professionalism and the maturity," Hoo said.

MacArthur made a failed bid for the Department 3 seat in 2008. He has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 2000.

Hoo graduated in 1998 from the California Western School of Law in San Diego and moved to Nevada, where he has worked in private practice for about 14 years. He primarily handles criminal cases.

He has worked as a substitute judge in North Las Vegas Justice Court for more than a year. Since 2009, he has provided free representation for veterans through the U.S. Veterans Initiative. And he recently began volunteering as a truancy diversion judge.

MacArthur received his law degree in 1999 from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. He was hired by the Clark County public defender's office in August 2000 but opened his own firm the following year. He represents defendants in criminal cases.

In 2006, MacArthur was appointed as a substitute judge in Las Vegas Municipal Court. He held that position for a year.

"Kalani Hoo is the conservative candidate, and I'm the liberal," MacArthur said. "We are both conscientious, hard-working and honest. But, I plan on leaving the cookie-cutter approach to sentencing behind, and tailoring penalties to fix the problem, rather than passing the buck."

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.