Opinion ID: 2609783
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Meaning and Consequence of the Legal Opinion Issued by the Ethics Commission

Text: Obviously, the responsibility of interpreting statutes belongs to the courts; and even if the Commission took it upon itself to render an advisory legal opinion, it is the duty of the court to determine the legal meaning of a statute, de novo. See Maxwell v. SIIS, 109 Nev. 327, 849 P.2d 267 (1993). The Ethics Commission's interpretation of NRS 281.481(3) is clearly wrong. Lucchesi did not and could not violate this statute because the Nevada Ethics in Government Law, at the time when Lucchesi supposedly violated it, contained no command which was susceptible to being disobeyed. There was nothing to violate. At the time when Lucchesi is charged with being in violation of NRS 281.481(3), the statute was expressly stated to be a mere guide for the conduct of state employees. The trial court was undeniably right when it held that NRS 281.481(3) was merely directory and permissive and no more than a discretionary guide for the conduct of public employees. As the trial court further correctly ruled, the statute was preventive rather than punitive. See NRS 281.551. The Nevada Ethics in Government law which Lucchesi is charged with having violated, contained the following preamble: A code of ethical standards is hereby established as a guide for the conduct of public officers and employees. (Emphasis added.) Similarly, each of the subsections began: No public officer or employee may .... [3] (My emphasis.) It is an elementary principle of statutory construction that statutes employing the word may are directory and permissive in nature, while those that employ the term shall are mandatory statutes. See, e.g., State v. American Bankers Insurance Company, 106 Nev. 880, 882, 802 P.2d 1276, 1278 (1990); Sengbusch v. Fuller, 103 Nev. 580, 582, 747 P.2d 240, 241 (1987). The statute in effect when this contract was signed was not mandatory and does not provide a basis for forfeiting the parties' contractual interests.