Nevada bar reprimands judicial candidate over bribery allegation

Jonathan MacArthur, an outspoken defense lawyer and judicial candidate, has been reprimanded by the Nevada State Bar over a bribery accusation.

The bar issued a letter of reprimand in late June to MacArthur as a result of a complaint by the district attorney's office that accused him of trying to bribe a witness to change his testimony in a criminal case.

The letter said a screening panel of lawyers found that MacArthur's conduct in the 2010 case violated several rules of professional conduct.

"We trust that this reprimand will serve as a reminder to you of your ethical obligations, and that no such problems arise in the future," the letter said.

Assistant State Bar Counsel Phil Pattee said Monday that the reprimand will remain on MacArthur's permanent professional record. MacArthur did not appeal it.

MacArthur, who is running for a seat in North Las Vegas Justice Court, could not be reached for comment Monday.

He has a history of clashes with the district attorney's office.

In 2007, he lost his job as a substitute judge in North Las Vegas Justice Court after then-District Attorney David Roger complained about hostile comments MacArthur hurled at prosecutors on his MySpace page. MacArthur listed one of his interests on the page as "breaking my foot off in a prosecutor's ass."

Last month, the Nevada Supreme Court denied MacArthur's bid to overturn a district judge's order holding him in contempt for refusing to defend a client at a child abuse trial.

District Judge Susan Johnson had fined MacArthur $500 and ordered him to pay the district attorney's office $7,060 for the time prosecutors spent preparing for the trial in 2011.

In the 2010 case, prosecutors outlined the bribery allegations in court papers asking a judge to remove MacArthur from defending Steven Dean Adams, on kidnapping, robbery and battery charges.

Prosecutors alleged that MacArthur had a conversation with Armand Boyadjian, the victim in the case, promising to get the defendant's parents to pay restitution if Boyadjian changed some facts in his future testimony

MacArthur acknowledged at a public hearing that he had offered Boyadjian restitution. He then withdrew from the case, and Adams, with a new lawyer at his side, pleaded guilty to attempted battery with a deadly weapon.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.