Sandoval says he 'stands by' opinion on petitions

LAS VEGAS - Despite mounting pressure and the threat of a lawsuit, the Nevada attorney general's office will not change an opinion that led to the disqualification of initiative petitions to limit smoking in public places and legalize marijuana.

Attorney General Brian Sandoval "stands by the opinion," Tom Sargent, spokesman for Sandoval, said Monday. Sargent said reversing the decision would defy a precedent the Nevada Supreme Court set in a similar case in 1994.

A Washoe County District Court judge will review the issue Feb. 7 in Reno.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada said Monday it will represent the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that wants the Legislature to consider letting adults possess up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use.

"What we have is an utter mess," said Gary Peck, ACLU executive director. "It disenfranchises the thousands and thousands of people who signed onto these petitions with the expectations that the state was going to follow its own rules, respect voters their first amendment rights and have a fair process."

Peck said ACLU lawyers planned to file a federal lawsuit this week.

"Unfortunately, we seem to be headed inexorably into federal court and another costly lawsuit for the people of the State of Nevada," he said.

Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller had asked Sandoval to reconsider after an appeal from Robert Crowell, attorney for the Nevada Clean Air initiative petition that seeks to limit smoking in public buildings.

Backers of the clean air petition

Crowell said Heller accepted an initiative petition to change medical malpractice laws after the 2002 November election, and determined the measure qualified for the ballot based on 10 percent of the voters in the 2000 election.

Heller said there were enough signatures to qualify the malpractice petition based on 10 percent of the voter turnout in 2000 and 2002.

Crowell said the health coalition relied on the advice of the secretary of state in its initiative petition guide that only 51,337 signatures were needed and then agreed to the request by county officials not to file the petition before the election because the officials had too much work facing them.