Nasty duel between DA, defense attorneys may bring Mack trial here

Will what happened in Reno stay in Reno? Or will the murder trial of Darren Roy Mack, who is accused of killing his estranged wife, Charla, and shooting Washoe County District Judge Chuck Weller, soon be coming to a Las Vegas courthouse?

Recent pretrial evidence victories by Mack's defense team have greatly increased the likelihood the case will be heard in Southern Nevada. Whether Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick makes the trip remains to be seen.

Gammick is the subject of a scathing motion to dismiss for outrageous government and prosecutorial misconduct. It was filed this week by defense attorneys Scott Freeman of Reno and David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld of Las Vegas.

Mack's recorded, incriminating telephone statements to his family friend Gammick were suppressed by the court after it was found they'd been made without legal authority.

If Gammick thinks he was angry at being entangled in the defense cowboys' initial rope tricks when they won the chief prosecutor's recusal and managed to clear the Reno District Court bench, wait until he reads the accusations set forth in their latest effort. The motion is filled with the kind of language that burns a deep scar into a prosecutor's career and can make very real enemies for defense counsel. The usual criminal mouthpiece hyperbole is a Henny Youngman skit compared with the mugging Gammick takes.

In brief, Gammick is accused of having a "flagrant disregard of the defendant's right to a fair trial" and the court's suppression ruling because he called a post-hearing news conference and not only revealed the suppressed evidence to reporters, but effectively called defense attorneys liars.

Although the experienced prosecutor's emotions in the case are understandable, it's clear he let them get the better of him and gave the defense an opportunity to fan the flames of its small victory into an inferno.

While Gammick said Freeman "out and out lied," the defense motion retorts that it was the district attorney who misled people when he claimed the Mack recordings were "absolutely legal under federal law."

But federal law didn't apply to the suppressed recordings. The motion makes out Gammick to be a liar just as he accused the defense of misleading the court. The difference is, the document lists multiple allegations and asserts that his behavior "shocks the conscience" and has prejudiced the Northern Nevada jury pool beyond doubt.

In response to a reporter's question, Gammick intimated that special prosecutor Christopher Lalli, who was appointed with Robert Daskas following the recusal, was aware the district attorney was holding a news conference following the suppression hearing. I'm beginning to believe Lalli didn't have a clue.

If newly appointed Clark County District Judge Douglas Herndon determines the government engaged in outrageous misconduct, he'll have several options, including dismissing the charges against Mack. That's extremely improbable. The judge is more likely to give the defense a partial victory that could have a substantial impact on the case. He might, for instance, prevent Gammick from testifying at trial, which would weaken the prosecution's slam-dunk case into something akin to a free throw.

Herndon also might make the extra effort to allow a change of venue from Washoe County to Clark County in an attempt to find an impartial jury and block a lengthy appeal.

The defense writes, "It is respectfully submitted that District Attorney Gammick's extrajudicial statements to the media outlining the subject and contents of the suppressed evidence in this case, his extrajudicial statements impugning the credibility of defense counsel by specifically calling defense counsel 'liars' and stating they have no credibility, and publicly challenging the lawfulness of this court's order for the purpose of tainting the jury pool, provide a basis in law and fact for this court to dismiss the charges herein."

Those defense attorneys shouldn't hold their breath waiting for Herndon to salve their wounded feelings. Attorneys call each other liars every day. I've heard lawyer jokes with harsher punch lines than the one Gammick gave reporters.

But Herndon will have a more difficult decision when it comes to allowing a change of venue. The defense has made some painful points, and Gammick helped make their job possible.

The judge and prosecutors are already from Southern Nevada.

Will the trial be next?

• John L. Smith's column, reprinted from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, appears on Thursdays on the Appeal's Opinion page. E-mail him at smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295.