State Bar of Nevada admissions head: Laxalt should've disclosed juvenile assault arrest GOP governor hopeful did not report teenage assault charge on application to the State Bar of Nevada

James DeHaven | Reno Gazette-Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Watch: Adam Laxalt speaks to the RGJ at VFW Post 9211 Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt speaks to the RGJ while visiting VFW Post 9211 in Reno on Jan. 30, 2018.

Turns out, Republican governor candidate Adam Laxalt should’ve disclosed all of his arrests on his initial application to practice law in Nevada.

That’s according to attorneys with the State Bar of Nevada, the public corporation that regulates Nevada attorneys. They say Laxalt, now the state’s top law enforcement officer, was required to divulge his 1996 juvenile arrest on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.

Laxalt last month told the Reno Gazette Journal that he told the bar about a 1997 DUI arrest, but was not required to report the 1996 incident.

Brian Kunzi, the bar’s director of admissions, disagreed.

More: Records show Adam Laxalt was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer as a teen

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“The application says you’re obligated to disclose any arrest, citation or conviction,” Kunzi said. “(Applicants) have an obligation to disclose everything because we want to see the circumstances. We want to know these things.”

Kevin Kelly, who has spent 20 years on the bar’s Character and Fitness Committee, said failure to fully disclose past brushes with the law could result in a committee investigation.

He declined to say if the committee would pursue such a probe into Laxalt.

“It can be a big deal,” Kelly said of disclosure requirements. “I really don’t want to get into a particular case, but hypothetically, if the bar found an applicant failed to disclose something, I’m guessing they might investigate.”

State campaign finance records show Kelly has donated $4,000 to Democratic governor nominee Steve Sisolak, Laxalt's opponent in November's election.

Laxalt did not return requests for comment on his bar application.

He appeared to dismiss concerns about the application during a Sunday appearance on Fox News.

"We disclosed everything we needed to disclose," he said. "We follow all the rules."

Questions about Laxalt's paperwork come after the RGJ obtained city police records describing his teenage arrest.

The documents show the GOP governor hopeful, then a 17-year-old living in Alexandria, Virginia, was arrested along with a woman charged with underage possession of alcohol.

He said he was drinking underage at the woman's house when police were called to the home.

"When I was 17, I was at a friend’s house, when police suddenly started to enter and I reacted the wrong way — trying to keep them from coming in and asking for a warrant," Laxalt said. "Today, as a law enforcement officer, I understand they were just doing their jobs."

Laxalt has been public about his teenage struggles with alcohol, including his DUI arrest in Virginia and his decision to enter a rehab facility at age 18. He said the assault charges leveled against him were dismissed.

In 2011, Laxalt passed Nevada’s bar exam. He was allowed to practice law in the state in 2012.

Revelations about his teenage arrest prompted immediate calls for the disclosure of 36 pages of unreleased police documents in Laxalt’s file. The city of Alexandria has declined to release the records, citing a Virginia law that prohibits the full disclosure of criminal investigative files and health records.

Political opponents also pressed Laxalt to release his bar application, which is not available to the public.

“If the GOP is interested in assessing a candidate’s fitness for office, why haven’t they requested a copy of Laxalt’s state bar application to find out if Laxalt disclosed this arrest?” the Nevada Democratic Party asked in a statement. “Why hasn’t the GOP asked that the 36 pages of Laxalt’s record be made public?

“Their double standard reveals what has become increasingly disturbing about this and future campaign cycles. Nevadans deserve better.”

The Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers — a police labor group that has endorsed Laxalt’s Democratic opponent in the governor’s race — said in a statement that news of Laxalt’s arrest was “extremely disturbing to Nevada’s law enforcement community.” The group represents individual officers and supervisors from some of the state's largest police organizations, including the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

“When someone has a history of violence, especially toward officers of the law, it should be a concern for anyone around them," wrote Richard McCann, the association’s executive director. “This holds especially true for Nevada’s ‘top cop’ who now wants a promotion to Governor.”