Lawmakers advance judge-protection bill

CARSON CITY " Nevada lawmakers on Thursday advanced a judge-protection bill that was sought by a Reno judge wounded by a man who was going through a contentious divorce and had just killed his estranged wife.

AB99, approved by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, originally sought enhanced penalties for crimes committed against judges and many others involved in the judicial process, but the enhanced penalties were dropped from the bill.

In previous testimony, Washoe County Family Court Judge Chuck Weller, who urged approval of the measure, said he started focusing on court security issues after being hit in June 2006 by a bullet fired through the window of his chambers by Darren Mack.

Weller, who handled the divorce of Mack and his estranged wife, Charla, also said that nationally the number of threats against judges grew from 200 threats in 1997 to 1,400 threats in 2008.

While AB99, now moving to the full Assembly, was revised to take out the enhanced penalties, other provisions to protect jurists remain, including one allowing judges and justices of the peace to list phony addresses when they apply for documents such as a driver's license or when they file for re-election.

The bill also would make it a crime to harass someone by filing a false lien against that person.

Critics of AB99 had raised concerns that it could create an "elite class" of citizens with more rights than others. Originally, the bill would have extended the right to file phony addresses only to district court and supreme court judges, but it was amended to include both municipal courts and justices of the peace.

Concerns about the cost of the phony address program were addressed by adding a provision stating that the cost would be borne by the judges who decided to participate in the program.

Barry Smith, executive director of the Nevada Press Association, has said that he opposed the idea of judges using bogus addresses.

"Once it starts, who knows where it would stop," Smith said. "It's a state-authorized lie. And that's not something I think our justice system should be asking for or participating in."