Rule 4. Unfair Election Practices.

The committee shall have the authority to determine whether a candidate for judicial office has engaged in an unfair election practice. An "unfair election practice" is any practice or act which would violate Canon 5 of the Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct.

1. Panels.
Matters concerning unfair election practices shall be decided by panels of five members, such panels consisting of two attorneys, two non-attorneys, and one district or senior judge serving as a non-voting, ex officio member of the panel. The panels shall be chosen on a random basis by the chair. Four voting members shall constitute a quorum, and the vote of three members of any panel is necessary to take action. Committee members shall be on call on a twelve-hour basis during the last three weeks of both the primary and general elections.

    (a) If requested to serve on a panel, a district or senior judge shall accept the appointment unless the judge is disqualified from serving under the provisions of Canon 3E of the Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct.

    (b)  The chair shall not request a district or senior judge to serve on a panel and a district or senior judge shall not serve on a panel if:*

    (1) The alleged unfair election practice involves a candidate for any judicial office within the judicial district in which the judge holds office or previously held office; or

    (2)  The judge is a candidate for judicial office and he or she has an opponent who has officially filed a declaration of candidacy for the same judicial office.*

2. Powers of the panel.
A committee panel may consider:

    (a) Only matters or incidents which have arisen subsequent to the formation of the committee, and may consider only matters referred to the committee by a candidate for judicial office; and

    (b) Only incidents arising from actions of a candidate for judicial office or those working for a candidate's election; provided, however, that the committee panel shall have the authority to determine whether a person is, in fact, working for the election of a candidate.

3. Procedure for reviewing complaints.

    (a) A complaint by a judicial candidate against another judicial candidate shall be submitted to the executive director of the committee in writing and must set forth the facts underlying the complaint.

    (b) Upon receipt of the complaint, the committee chair or executive director shall immediately contact the candidate whose conduct is in question, advise him or her of the complaint, and ascertain whether the allegations are admitted or denied.

        (1) If the offending candidate admits the truth of the allegations, then the matter shall be referred to a panel of the committee for appropriate action. The offending candidate shall be invited to attend the meeting of the panel to explain his or her actions.

        (2) If the offending candidate denies the actions, the complaining candidate shall be advised to be present at the meeting of the panel and to bring forth proof of the matters alleged in the complaint. The offending candidate shall also be invited to attend and present a defense to the complaint.

        (3) During this entire procedure, neither the candidate nor any member of the committee or panel shall make any public reference to the fact that the matter is pending before the committee. 

4. Resolution of complaint.

Once the panel reaches a decision, the candidates will be advised of the decision and the intended remedy. All decisions shall be in writing, and shall be open for public inspection at the Commission's office.

    (a) If the panel finds unfair election practices, the panel shall determine the appropriate remedy.

        (1) The committee or panel has authority to impose sanctions, including publication of its decision. If a public statement is made by the committee or panel, that statement may be used by the aggrieved candidate in the campaign.

        (2) A public statement by the committee or panel of its findings may not always be appropriate. For example, an untrue statement may be corrected by a public retraction of the statement by the offending candidate; in the event that the group addressed by the offending candidate was relatively small, then a retraction directed to that particular group may be deemed sufficient.

        (3) The committee or panel may refer any matter to the appropriate body for professional discipline, and the committee's or panel's findings may be used as evidence in any disciplinary proceeding.

        (4) The committee may respond publicly to any unauthorized public reference to the committee by a candidate.

5. Confidentiality.

All meetings of panels concerning unfair election practices are confidential.  Any decision shall be signed by the chair or vice-chair and all decisions must be made public.


* These changes became effective July 26, 2002.