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Details Emerge In Fight Over DA Payment Records

Gavel
There are new details about the District Attorney's payment system for some witnesses.

Last year, the Las Vegas Review-Journal broke a series of stories that detailed how the Clark County District Attorney reimburses some people who testify in court.

In response, the District Attorney’s Office turned over some files, not all, and redacted some information. The newspaper sued.

Last week, the case went to court and more details emerged. Reporter Bethany Barnes broke the original stories. 

She told KNPR’s State of Nevada that despite a news release from District Attorney Steve Wolfson explaining all the information that his office would be releasing, public defenders she has spoken with say the office is not really providing all the information.

Originally, Barnes had asked for the check account ledger to see what payments were being made and the DA inducement index, which is a record of what kind of benefits people are giving.   

She had wanted both to see how the system was working but when the ledger arrived it had been redacted.

The DA’s attorney argued in court that releasing names would put people in danger. Barnes said no one wanted to put anyone in danger and agrees that the names of confidential informants should be restricted; however, the names of people who have testified in court are public record.

She said it is more than just names it is about how the justice system is working in Clark County.

“It’s also what type of benefits are being given in what type of cases,” Barnes said.  

 

Copyright 2015 KNPR-FM. To see more, visit http://www.knpr.org/.

Bethany Barnes, reporter, Las Vegas Review-Journal

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Joe Schoenmann joined Nevada Public Radio in 2014. He works with a talented team of producers at State of Nevada who explore the casino industry, sports, politics, public health and everything in between.