Las Vegas, NV. “Have you no sense of decency”? [i]The question ran through my mind while listening to Clifford Gravett defend an attorney’s right to use yellow journalism to advance his case against an opponent while simultaneously presenting to the court information that is alleged to be demonstrably wrong.
Last Wednesday’s hearing before Las Vegas District Judge Timothy Williams was the latest in a long list of hearings resulting from May 15, 2018, civil action filed by the owners of the Wolf Creek Golf Course against the Virgin Valley Water District (VVWD) seeking to halt the Water Boards restrictive pricing practices.
Gravett, representing the Water Board [ii] was in court contesting charges his boss attorney Jedediah (Bo) Bingham was coordinating with Barbara Ellestad, a “reporter” for Battle Born Media (BBM) to disparage Cory Clemetson, an owner of Wolf Creek in the local Mesquite press.
As important, Gravett was contesting allegations that Bingham had engaged in “willful unlawful acts” with “ulterior motives” by submitting depositions from witnesses giving factually challenged testimony. [[iii]]
As my colleague Andrew Davey reported on Friday, Judge Williams was not going to dictate what attorneys say to the media. Further, the Judge left questions about the veracity of Bingham’s deposition up to a future jury.
Perhaps attorneys for Paradise Canyon knew that the Judge would not overrule Bingham’s use of yellow journalism in the case. It is also likely that they knew the Judge would leave questions of Bingham’s possible use of tainted testimony to a jury. Their intent was more likely to put into the record just how low an attorney and their financiers will go when challenged by a superior force.
Remember too, that it is the Virgin Valley Water Board (VVWB ) Travis Anderson, Richard Bowler, Ben Davis, Nephi Julien, and John Burrows who not only condone Bingham’s behavior but are funding his antics with public dollars? Have they (all) no sense of decency?
Authors note: A May Open Records Request to the VVWB requesting the amount of public dollars given to Bingham, and his law firm remains unfulfilled. The Boards failure to supply the amount has gone to the Attorney General for resolution.
Endnotes:
[i] Asked by Attorney Joseph Welch to Joseph McCarthy during the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings
[ii] Of Bingham, Snow and Caldwell, of Mesquite Nv and St. George, Utah.
[iii] Matthew Neeland, Attorney Paradise Canyon (Wolf Creek) legal counsel, Wednesday September 25, Eighth Judicial Court, in Paradise Canyon vs. Virgin Valley Water District at: https://nevada-today.com/wolf-creek-vvwd-lawsuit-1a-update/
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