Court Opinion

ID: 9847780
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:07:19.924987+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:17:32.839195
License: Public Domain

Gunderson, J.,
dissenting:
When Sheriff McCarthy selected several police officers for appointment to unclassified positions, and such officers were not of the rank of captain, his appointments violated Nevada law, specifically NRS 280.290(5), and 280.120(2). If there were any doubt concerning interpretation of the relevant statutes, plaintiffs offered abundant evidence to the Legislature’s intent. Moreover, reason militates in favor of the interpretation for which the plaintiffs contend.
The district court apparently felt appointments to unclassified positions need be made from the rank of captain, or above, only at the time of the consolidation. This reasoning is contrary to the literal statutory language of 280.290(5) and 280.120, which states, “The resulting department shall operate under the provisions of this chapter.” NRS 280.290(2), (3) and (5) reads as follows:
(2) Upon merger, the chief of police of the largest participating city shall be second in command of the department and shall be designated as undersheriff of the department.
(3) Upon merger, the chiefs of police of other participating cities, the assistant chiefs of police of other participating cities, the chief deputies or deputy chiefs, or both, and the undersheriff of the county are entitled to obtain *525employment with the department in positions which their leadership abilities warrant.
(5) The persons selected to fill any of the positions in subsections 2 and 3 shall be selected from the highest civil service rank in the department.
In addition to contradicting this clear language, it seems to me that my brethren are attributing a rather surprising intent to our Legislature. In effect, the majority hold that our Legislature did not intend to require the sheriff to accord recognition to merit in the police department’s highest and most important positions, following formation of the unified department. As I see it, this means career officers may work the bulk of their professional lives, to achieve a captain’s rank on merit, only to have others appointed over them, without regard to merit. I am unwilling to attribute such a divisive and demoralizing scheme to our Legislature.