Opinion ID: 1162726
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: The Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital Incident

Text: At the formal hearing, an exemplified copy of an order issued by appellant on December 2, 1985, in a criminal case was introduced into evidence. The order directed the City of North Las Vegas to transport a criminal defendant to Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital for a psychiatric examination. Additionally, the commission admitted into evidence and considered orders entered by appellant on December 6, 1985, and December 13, 1985, directing a psychiatric charge nurse and the administrator of the Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital to show cause why they refused a court order to admit a person in the custody of the North Las Vegas Police Department into the Psychiatric Ward of Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital. Although the hospital was not a party to and had no knowledge of the underlying criminal proceeding, appellant's orders further provided that if these two individuals failed to appear at the scheduled show cause hearing, a bench warrant would issue for their arrest and confinement. An exemplified copy of the docket or minute entries of the court was also admitted as evidence at the formal hearing. The entries suggest that hospital policy would not permit the criminal defendant to be admitted unless a police officer was assigned to guard the defendant during his stay. No further testimony or evidence was adduced at the commission's formal hearing respecting this incident. Based upon this evidence, the commission found that appellant abused the contempt power vested in him by issuing orders directing the administrator of the Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital and a psychiatric charge nurse to show cause why they `refused a court order to admit a person in the custody of the North Las Vegas Police Department into the Psychiatric Ward of Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital.'