[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----NEV., ORE.

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 23



NEVADA:

Lawyer suspended over accusations against Nevada Supreme Court justices



A panel of appointed district judges this week suspended Las Vegas lawyer James 
Colin because of his conduct after the Supreme Court rejected his client’s 
appeals in a death penalty case.

Colin represented Charles Lee Randolph, 53, who was convicted of 1st-degree 
murder and sentenced to death in 1998.

After losing that case and the appeal, Colin launched into a tirade against the 
high court, accusing justices of dishonesty, unethical behavior and a laundry 
list of other violations including illegally taking money to sit on the high 
court’s Library Commission — a duty they were authorized to receive payment 
for.

And Colin made the charges in a series of pleadings filed with the high court.

The panel of district judges appointed to review his conduct agreed with the 
State Bar and, in an opinion issued Thursday, ruled his conduct violated the 
rules by making false statements about the integrity of the justices and 
“conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.”

Colin wrote, among other things, that, “The Nevada Supreme Court has no respect 
for the Nevada Constitution or the law of the United States of America. The 
court’s despicable and blatantly lawless actions have repeatedly proven this 
sad truth.”

He charged that: “The court works hard to this very day to break the law, make 
up lies and complete the judicial lynching of Charles Lee Randolph.”

He accused justices of being “drunk with power, acting like a lawless bully 
just lying and cheating to accomplish its evil objective to see Randolph dead,” 
and described them as “vindictive, dishonest and totally biased.”

The State Bar conducted a formal hearing that Colin failed to show up for. 
Afterward, the State Bar recommended Colin be suspended for a year and a day.

Throughout the dispute, he repeatedly called for disqualification of six of the 
high court members. Justice Lidia Stiglich was not a member of the court when 
all this occurred.

To avoid suggestions of bias, a panel of six district judges from around the 
state was appointed to review the bar recommendation.

That panel, headed by Stiglich, issued its opinion Thursday: “We conclude that 
the State Bar proved that Colin made statements in pleadings to the court 
concerning the integrity of several justices that he knew to be false or with 
reckless disregard for their truth or falsity.”

That, the opinion states, violates the ethical rules lawyers are required to 
follow.

They suspended him from practice for six months and a day and ordered that he 
pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam before getting his license 
back.

Colin represented Randolph in 1998 when he was tried and convicted of murder 
and six other felonies including kidnapping and robbery. He remains in prison 
at the Ely maximum security prison.

(source: Nevada Appeal)








OREGON:

Primus criticizes lack of action to fix death penalty law



Gov. Kate Brown’s refusal to call a special session to fix a flaw that would 
make a new death penalty bill retroactive stymies Umatilla County District 
Attorney Dan Primus. Brown said she couldn’t justify the cost of a special 
session when she wasn’t sure if the votes were there to approve the fix. Primus 
says there is no cost too great when it comes to the crime victims.

“We’re talking about the concern of incurring a cost when we’re talking about 
victims that are going to be revictimized as a result of this, that are going 
to have to go through this some more of a result of this and changes to their 
cases,” Primus questioned.

Sen. Bill Hansell (R-Athena) has told KUMA News that he was told the votes for 
the fix were there in the Senate. Primus said all the lawmakers had to do was 
add a few words.

“Just add a little language that would read, ‘As of Sept. 29, when the bill is 
to take place, that this would only affect crimes that occurred after that 
date,’” he said.

There are 35 inmates who have been sentenced to death in Oregon. Thirty three 
of them are on death row. The only woman is in another correctional 
institution. One man is now at Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla 
so he can undergo dialysis.

(source: mycolumbiabasin.com)