Vol. 4, No. 24
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October 15, 2007
Nevada's Online State News Journal
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COPYWRITING
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Mack Trial Moved
To Clark County
Change Of Venue Rare In
Nevada Jurisprudence
by Johnny Gunn
In what can only be described as a sensational crime, the trial of pawn shop owner Darren Mack has had to be moved from Washoe County to Clark County because a jury could not be seated in the northern county. The crime itself drew tremendous amounts of publicity in northern Nevada and the actions of Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick added to the volatility of the issue.
Procedural protocol was evaded, some say, criminal procedure was more like it say others, and the sum total, as District Judge Douglas Herndon said was that "After three days of jury selection and the review of approximately 340 juror questionnaires, the Court had sufficient information to now address the change of venue request on its merits." Herndon is sitting on the case because of the inflammatory conditions in Washoe County. Herndon is a Clark County District Judge. Trial is still scheduled to get underway October 15 in Las Vegas.
On June 12, 2006 it is alleged that Darren Roy Mack murdered his wife Charla with a hunting type knife in their Reno home and then, using a scoped hunting rifle attempted to kill District Judge Chuck Weller, who in his capacity of Family Court Judge was overseeing the divorce of the Mack couple. It is further alleged that Mack then fled the country eventually showing up in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It is at this point that the case changes from a sensational murder/attempted murder to a murky legal situation.
While in Mexico, Mack allegedly contacted Washoe County District Attorney Dick Gammick, a long time family friend, to attempt to negotiate a surrender. In later testimony in court, it became known that Gammick may have been aware that Mack had legal counsel, arranged by the Mack family, and did not inform that counsel about his negotiations with an alleged murderer. Gammick arranged for Mack to give up, exchanged numerous telephone and e-mail conversations with Mack, and eventually Mack was returned to Reno to be arraigned and tried.
Because of Gammick's alleged interference, the defense immediately called for two things, that the Washoe County District Attorney's office not be involved in prosecution of the case. And, that Washoe County judges be barred from the case because one of their own had been shot, allegedly by the defendant. Gammick has been saying the decision to remove his office from the prosecution is his call, but many don't believe a word of that.
The Clark County District Attorney assigned two high level prosecutors to the case, Christopher Lalli and Robert Daskas, and Douglas Herndon was assigned to hear the case. There were several pre-trial court hearings to discuss the phone calls and e-mails between Mack and Gammick. The telephone calls were ruled inadmissible as evidence, however, the e-mails have been declared admissible for use during the trial.
Mack has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and some had feared that because of the inept procedural problems created by the Washoe County District Attorney that he might walk. His defense is led by Clark County's well known David Chesnoff and Washoe County's Scott Freeman. Between the defense and prosecution, there may be as many as 250 witnesses called to testify.
It is the divorce case at the heart of the murder of Charla Mack and the shooting of Judge Weller. Child custody, payments for childcare, and alimony all figure in the case, which has been referred to as contentious from the beginning. Darren Mack's personal life style as a swinger and "player" add to the sensationalism. According to police reports, Charla had come to what was their home to meet with Mack and in their garage, he allegedly killed her with a hunting knife. They found her body in a large puddle of blood near her car.
At the time of the killing, a friend was also at the Mack residence as was the Mack's daughter. Mack allegedly told the friend to take the daughter to her grandmother's, and afterward, the friend became suspicious and related experiences to the police who in turn found the murdered woman. In the meantime, it is alleged, Mack drove to a downtown parking garage that sits just across the Truckee River from the Washoe County Courthouse where Weller has offices on the third floor. From the fifth floor of the parking garage it is an easy shot into Weller's office. Weller was shot in the chest with a high-powered rifle, and survived.
The change in venue is one of the few on record in Nevada, and it may be the first in a capital murder case in Washoe County. There are vast differences between a potential jury pool in Washoe County and one in Clark County; the biggest difference is population. Washoe County has a total population of under 300,000 so there is a small number of people available for jury duty. Clark County's population of over two million makes the chore considerably easier.
The question is always raised about whether a jury is truly a group of one's peers. When questioned, if one knows or has read a considerable amount about a case that person is often dropped from duty. Many argue this leaves only those that are uninformed, unread, possibly uneducated to sit on a jury. Being judged by a jury of your peers is one of our constitutional rights in this country, and even with the potential problems with the system, it is far better than is found in many other countries around the world.
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