Nuts and bolts of impeachment process uncertain

• During an impeachment proceeding, Controller Kathy Augustine would have the opportunity for due process before the Assembly, which would review the Ethics Commission report and its own evidence then decide, by a majority vote, whether to issue articles of impeachment - essentially the same as a grand jury indictment.

• Her trial, then, would be held before the Nevada Senate, which would require a two-thirds majority to remove her from office.

The trial process is not spelled out in the constitution. And since it has never happened before, Legislative Counsel Bureau Director Lorne Malkiewich has said it isn't at all clear exactly how impeachment would proceed in either house.

• Legal counsel and researchers have been working on the issue since ethics charges were first filed, and he and legislative counsel have been in contact with legislative leaders trying to decide exactly how to proceed.

Finally, there is nothing in the law prohibiting the attorney general from changing his mind about a criminal complaint, especially if new or additional evidence emerges.

- Geoff Dornan, Appeal Capitol Bureau