Picking jury crucial in Bunkerville retrial

Second round for four Bundy supporters starts Monday

Another trial in the Bunkerville standoff case opens Monday in Las Vegas, but instead of trying a new set of defendants, prosecutors will launch their second attempt to win convictions against four men accused of conspiring against the government with rancher Cliven Bundy.

The retrial follows a mistrial in April, when jurors deadlocked on 50 of the 60 counts against the first batch of defendants in the three-part case. Prosecutors eventually plan to try 17 men on charges resulting from the April 2014 armed standoff between individual rights activists and Bureau of Land Management agents, who came to Bunkerville to seize Bundy’s cattle from public land.

The hung jury did not come as a surprise to local court observers, who previously have said that the trial against the first group hinged on ideological issues that typically are not litigated inside a courtroom. In a 2 million-population metropolitan area built in the middle of a desert, federal jury pools draw people from rural and urban areas — with differ- ent political views, policy priorities and perceptions of law enforcement.

“Every case is about jury selection, but this one is specifically about jury selection,” said attorney Jess Marchese, who represents defendant Eric Parker. “Either you’re going to be OK with Eric Parker on a bridge with his gun or you’re not. And one thing I will do is embrace that more.”

By framing the cattle impound

BUNDY

Although not prompted by the rash of recent employee arrests in the Clark County School District — as outlined in the Las Vegas Review-journal’s recent Broken Trust series — having a clear definition of moral turpitude is needed to help state and district officials preempt improper conduct or punish offenders.

In late June, Department of Education officials presented two dozen examples of crimes that they want included on the list to the Legislative Commission. Under their proposal, convictions for burglary, arson, child endangerment, child abuse and anything sexual would be grounds to deny an initial license or a license renewal or to revoke a current license.

In a given year, the department processes between 12,000 and

15,000 license applications and renewals. In the last three years, about 120 applications have been denied.

Lawmaker concerns

While generally supporting the effort to define moral turpitude, the Legislative Commission declined to approve the regulation as presented and returned it to the department for revision.

Concerns included differences in federal and state laws related to controlled substances and immigration charges and deciding how many DUI convictions would be grounds for denial.

Lawmakers zeroed in on marijuana possession convictions, saying they would not want them to result in automatic denials because pot possession is no longer a crime in Nevada.

“We can speak about our intent, but this reads that this could be a basis for a revocation or denial,” said Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, D-las Vegas.

Similar concerns were cited about immigration laws. The regulation was written specifically to exclude mentioning immigration crimes, but state Senate President Pro Tempore Mo Denis, D-las Vegas, said he was concerned that a crime such as harboring a fugitive could open the door for license denial even if it was immigration-related.

Deputy Attorney General Greg Ott, whose agency worked on the proposed regulation with Education Department officials, responded, “My thought is, through conversations with the superintendent, he would certainly take into account what the fugitive had done. If the fugitive was an immigration violation, then that would be something he would look at and exercise his discretion.”

He was referring to a provision of the regulation that would retain the superintendent’s authority to use discretion in individual cases.

Another issue was how many

DUI convictions it would take to be denied a license. In Nevada, the first and second DUI convictions are considered misdemeanors. A third conviction is a felony.

The proposed statute would allow one DUI conviction but would gen- erally exclude applicants with two DUI convictions.

“Part of the intent in drafting the language as written was to establish a greater duty of care than might be normal,” said Mike Arakawa, the Education Department’s licensure program officer.

Next steps

Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton, D-las Vegas, questioned why the regulation was needed, since the existing process seems to be working.

“We do understand that. However, the transparency was not there,” said Dietrich, the state educator licensing official. “It was left up to the interpretation of the sitting superintendent at the time. So as superintendents come and go, this interpretation of moral turpitude could change along the way.”

Legislative Commission staff members are working to draft a formal list of concerns for the Education Department to address in its next revision of the regulation.

Education officials may have to hold another public hearing on the rules, depending on how much lawmaker feedback is incorporated in the next draft. Therefore, they don’t expect to head back to the commission for approval until the fall.

With the number of license applications increasing during the summer — as school districts work through hiring — the department will continue to follow “operating guidelines” from Canavero.

Contact Meghin Delaney at 702383-0281 or mdelaney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Meghindelaney on Twitter.