Muffins and Missteps

The event invitation was sent to us by several readers.

An invite dropped in our inbox: District Attorney Chris Hicks, speaking Monday, August 11th at Mimi’s Cafe. Cue the political theater.

What will he be talking about? His many misfires as DA? The ongoing Izabella Loving homicide proceedings? The Reno High School vandalism protest one could argue his office mishandled. The DA’s refusal to fulfill reasonable public record requests for two years - allowing Washoe County Government to remain insulated from public scrutiny. Or is this just a veiled attempt at “equal time” after Sparks City Attorney Wes Duncan announced his DA candidacy at a luncheon hosted by a different branch of the same group in June? Watch the video - Duncan has a wonderful story about President Teddy Roosevelt as his lead-in to announcing.. Very clever Wes.

But here’s the real story they should be grilling Hicks on: a federal lawsuit filed in over the tragic case of a UNR freshman who was allegedly drugged and raped at orientation - as covered by the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Shockingly, the DA’s office “inexplicably” dropped the criminal case.

If criminal accountability gets sidelined—and the courthouse doors remain open only to civil attorneys—then where does that leave justice and the public trust?

Let’s just say the optics of Hicks delivering a speech and enjoying a muffin at Mimi’s while this lawsuit simmers are… well, Picon is finally at a loss for words.