When Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo abruptly fired the Department of Indigent Defense Services (DIDS) executive director in August, he jeopardized the constitutional rights of all Nevadans and endangered the basic functioning of Nevada’s criminal justice system. The recent revelation of this unannounced and unexplained termination should gravely concern all Nevadans. 

As the DIDS executive director, it was Marcie Ryba’s job to implement the fundamental right to counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. She was responsible for protecting the presumption of innocence by ensuring that all people arrested in Nevada who cannot afford to hire a lawyer are provided effective counsel.  According to the Nevada Board of Indigent Defense Services, which oversaw her work, she was doing an exceptional job.

Under Nevada law, the governor can only fire the executive director based “upon a finding of incompetence, neglect of duty, commission of an act that constitutes moral turpitude, misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance in office or for any other good cause.” This minimal “good cause” protection was intended to insulate the defense function from the governor’s political whims. In Ryba’s case, no cause was given — good or otherwise — nor was she afforded any notice or due process.

Further, Nevada’s minimal “good cause” protection falls far short of the standards prescribed by the American Bar Association, which call for indigent defense providers to be “independent of political influence.” Defense independence protects this key part of the justice system from political interference. Lawyers are ethically obligated to serve only their clients. Defense lawyers are compelled to challenge the evidence of the prosecution and the police. In so doing, they can expose poor practices and even corruption. But if the head of the indigent defense system is subject to firing on the governor’s impulse, they may be dissuaded from pursuing such issues. This creates an inherent conflict — a defense lawyer cannot be loyal to both to their client and to a governor.

Nevadans should demand answers. Why did Gov. Lombardo fire Ryba? Was it because she sought the funding necessary to meet the indigent defense system’s statutory and constitutional obligations? Will the firing put an even greater thumb on the scale of justice in favor of the prosecution? 

Nevadans should also worry about the impact of this firing. Under Ryba’s leadership, DIDS has worked hard to improve access to constitutionally mandated indigent defense services, particularly in Nevada’s rural areas. With Ryba’s firing, the attorneys who provide those services are rightly worried about ongoing support and funding, and whether this firing reflects flagging commitment to indigent defense generally. 

If this interference in indigent defense signals a retrenchment on recent reforms and funding, attorney shortages will worsen, particularly in Nevada’s rural areas. And growing shortages will inevitably jeopardize the very functioning of Nevada’s criminal courts, increasing backlogs and potentially leaving some people without their constitutionally required representation.  

But a functioning justice system is not the only thing at stake. A breakdown in indigent defense operations would also breach Nevada’s obligations under the settlement in Davis v. Nevada, an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit brought to ensure adequate indigent defense throughout the state. Such a breach could subject the state to being held in contempt and fined. 

In the short term, the governor should be required to state a cause for Ryba’s firing in writing and provide due process. In the longer term, the Legislature should reaffirm its support for improving indigent defense and add protections to the state’s statute to ensure the system’s full independence from the governor. The functioning and trustworthiness of Nevada’s justice system depend upon it.

Pamela Metzger is the executive director and Malia Brink is the policy director of the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.

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