High Court denies attempt to block doctors' initiative

The Nevada Supreme Court has refused to grant a petition attempting to keep the "Keep Our Doctors in Nevada" initiative off the November ballot.

A group of opponents, including Progressive Leadership Alliance and the state AFL-CIO, argue the initiative violates both state and federal constitutions and misleads voters because it lacks information necessary to understand the impact of the measure.

The Secretary of State's Office validated the petitions in December 2002, and the 2003 Legislature failed to act on the measure calling for strict limits on lawsuits against doctors and damages that could be awarded.

"Petitioners present no reason or excuse for why they waited more than a year since it became apparent that the initiative would appear on the November 2004 ballot to file this petition and instead filed it only two weeks before ballots are scheduled to be printed," the high court wrote in rejecting the demand. "In addition, if the initiative should pass, we would have ample opportunity to address the constitutionality of its provisions."

The court refused to act now, saying it won't be forced to rush consideration of the issues or disrupt election proceedings.

"We are not persuaded that we should intervene in these circumstances, especially when petitioners' tardiness caused the emergency and they have offered no explanation for why they are so late in seeking relief."

Reach Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.