Second, Regan argues that the district court abused its
discretion by denying his motion to disqualify the Clark County District
Attorney's Office because attorney Steven Wolfson, who represented him
when he pleaded guilty, was subsequently appointed District Attorney of
Clark County. On appeal, Regan does not dispute the adequacy of the
screening procedures in place and instead contends that screening itself is
inappropriate because Wolfson's title as District Attorney, as well as his
personal participation in this case, creates a per se appearance of
impropriety. We disagree. While it is true that the district attorney is
responsible for deciding the overall policy of the office, consistent with
NRS 252.070(1), the deputies appointed by the district attorney handle the
day-to-day operations of the divisions of the office and make decisions
regarding specific cases. Further, even though the district attorney's
name appears on every document filed with the court, it is clear that the
district attorney is not personally handling all of the cases filed by the
district attorney's office, and that these cases are instead being handled by
the deputy who is also listed on every document. Having carefully
considered Regan's contention, we conclude that he fails to demonstrate
that the district court abused its discretion by declining to disqualify the
entire district attorney's office. See Collier v. Legakes, 98 Nev. 307, 310,
646 P.2d 1219, 1221 (1982) (noting that disqualification of an entire public
office is only warranted in "extreme cases" where "public trust and
SUPREME COURT
OF
NEVADA
2
(0) 1947A <
%, .• '
confidence in our criminal justice system could not be maintained without
such action"). Accordingly, we
ORDER the judgment of conviction AFFIRMED. 1
c-g-tt-N J.
Hardesty
cc: Hon. Michelle Leavitt, District Judge
McDonald Adras LLC
Attorney General/Carson City
Clark County District Attorney
Eighth District Court Clerk
1 We note that the fast track statement contains no citation to the
appendix. See NRAP 3C(e)(1)(C). We caution appellant's counsel, Patrick
McDonald, that future failure to comply with the Nevada Rules of
Appellate Procedure when filing briefs with this court may result in the
imposition of sanctions. See NRAP 3C(n).
SUPREME COURT
OF
NEVADA
3
(0) 1947A
PTA,