Attorney to speak at Republican dinner

A lawyer hired by a group of Nevada lawmakers who recently petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming the state violated state and federal constitutional rights during the last legislative session, will speak in Carson City next week.

Attorney John Eastman will talk about the status and details of the filings made last week with the nation's highest court, continuing a Republican opposition to raising taxes without a two-thirds majority.

"I'll be talking about the theory on which our claims are based," Eastman said from his office as director of the Claremont Institute for Constitutional Jurisprudence and law professor at Chapman University in Orange, Calif.

The keynote speech at the Lincoln Day Dinner on Feb. 6 will also focus on the notion of a guaranteed republican form of government where "people get to decide what form of government they want to have."

Eastman filed the petition last week on behalf of 24 Republicans challenging the state Supreme Court's 6-1 decision in July temporarily voiding the state's requirement that a tax increase needs two-thirds approval by the Legislature. By filing the petition, Eastman is asking for the state court's decision to be overturned.

The state court ruled funding the state's schools took precedence over the two-thirds requirement.

Nevada Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, R-Reno, hired Eastman last year and was a key player in the Republican challenge. Angle will introduce Eastman at the Feb. 6 fund-raiser.

U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., and Assemblyman Ron Knecht, R-Carson City, will also speak.

A reception will begin at 4:30 p.m. at Dr. and Mrs. Richard Reich's House, 2751 Manhattan Drive, in Carson. Cocktails will follow at 6 p.m. at the Carson Nugget and dinner will start at 7 p.m.

Cost is $35 for the VIP reception, $35 for dinner, or $60 for both events.

The dinner is sponsored by the Carson City Republican Central Committee.

If you go:

What: Lincoln Day Dinner

Who: Keynote speaker Dr. John Eastman

Where: Carson Nugget, 507 N. Carson St.

When: 6 p.m. Feb. 6

Contact: Harry Fowler at 841-2142 or Richard Moore at 841-5458