Opinion ID: 1197759
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: order granting petition and vacating order appointing special master

Text: On September 7, 1995, the undersigned petitioned the elected justices of this court to review actions taken by a panel constituted to hear and decide the matter of Whitehead v. Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline, Docket No. 24598. Our petition was prompted by the panel's issuance of an order, signed by only two of the elected justices of this court, appointing a special master/prosecutor, and directing the expenditure of public funds to facilitate the special master/prosecutor's activities. This order was entered by a majority of the panel constituted to hear and decide only the Whitehead matter. Because the order exceeds the panel's jurisdiction to decide the case before it and purports to authorize the expenditure of public funds, we are compelled to act in our administrative capacity to protect this court's resources and to govern the programs pursued by the court. The administration of this court and the utilization of court resources must be authorized by at least three of the five elected Supreme Court Justices, i.e., a majority of this court. SCR 7(1); SCR 7(4). Any administrative action is null and void if a majority of the court disagrees with it. SCR 7(8). The Whitehead court issued its final decision in this matter on September 9, 1994. See Whitehead v. Comm'n on Jud. Discipline, 111 Nev. 70, 893 P.2d 866 n. 1 (Adv. Opn. 11, February 24, 1995). The Order Appointing Special Master, was entered one year after entry of judgment in that matter in the hope that effective measures will eventuate that will help to avoid future unwarranted degradation and erosion of the independence of the court and of the judicial system as a whole. (Emphasis in the original.) The undersigned, a majority of the duly elected Supreme Court Justices, determine that the appointment of a special master/prosecutor and concomitant expenditure of funds serves no legitimate purpose and amounts to a gross waste of this court's limited resources. We therefore declare void the Order Appointing Special Master entered in Docket No. 24598, and hereby prohibit the payment of any cost or expenditure associated with the appointment of said special master/prosecutor. It is so ORDERED.