Hearing delayed on petition to ban prostitution in Churchill

A hearing that could decide the future of legal prostitution in Churchill County was delayed Tuesday when legal questions were raised.

District Court Judge Archie E. Blake was prepared to rule on the validity of petitions that would put the issue on the November ballot. Petitioners want voters to decide if legal prostitution in the county should continue or be banned.

Judge Blake postponed the hearing for one week, saying a challenge on the number of valid signatures on the petition is important enough to delay the hearing.

Reno attorney Patricia Cafferata, who is representing a political action group called Nevadans for Freedom of Choice, contends there's not a sufficient number of valid signatures on the petition to qualify it for the ballot.

Petitions were circulated by a local group dubbed the Coalition to End Prostitution in Churchill County. That group wants a ballot measure that asks voters if they want to repeal an ordinance enacted in 1974 which allows two legal brothels in the county.

After the petitions were turned in to the Churchill County Clerk/Treasurer's office, where they were certified as sufficient, the pro-brothel group filed a lawsuit to block the question from appearing on the general election ballot.

Tuesday's hearing was planned so the judge could address motions to dismiss the lawsuit filed against Churchill County Clerk Gloria Venturacci, petition circulators and Elizabeth Earl, who spearheaded the anti-brothel petition effort.

On Tuesday, Cafferata alleged a random sampling done by Venturacci's office did not verify enough valid signatures to qualify the question for the ballot. Cafferata cited a state law that says at least 90 percent of the sampling of signatures must be deemed valid. She claims Venturacci's own documents show the percentage at 81, and that she had just learned about the formula used.

The Nevadans for Freedom of Choice contend there are also several deficiencies in the way signatures were collected by the coalition and notarized. Cafferata also questioned why Venturacci's documents say there were 1,337 signatures turned into her office, while the coalition says they turned in 1,194 signatures.

For the petition to be valid, at least 742 registered voters must have signed it. That figure represents 10 percent of the total number of voters who voted in the last general election.

Attorneys for the defendants contend that a few technical mistakes shouldn't preclude a vote on the topic, and that the right to vote and petition should be vigorously protected.

Judge Blake said it wouldn't be fair to the defendants in the lawsuit to allow Cafferata to argue the new allegations on the day of the hearing without giving lawyers for the other side a chance to respond.

Marlene Garcia can be contacted at mgarcia@lahontanvalleynews.com