Aaron Ford likes protecting Nevadans. Whether it be protecting consumers against scams, or safeguarding residents from deadly fentanyl, keeping Nevadans safe is a top priority for the state attorney general.
Ford first spoke to Vegas Legal Magazine in 2018, while running for his first term as Nevada’s AG. In November of last year, Ford won a second term in office. His victory in November solidified his status as a state politician on the rise.
In this follow-up story, Ford talks about what he still wants to accomplish as Nevada’s AG. But can we expect Ford to run for senate, or Nevada governor, in the future? Aaron Ford says he just wants to concentrate on the job at hand.
“Right now, my focus is on serving the people of Nevada as their attorney general,” he responds. “It’s been the best job I’ve ever had, and I look forward to continuing the pursuit of justice in all we do.”
A Look Back at How It All Started
Aaron Ford didn’t take the traditional path to becoming a lawyer, lawmaker and now attorney general of Nevada.
A Dallas native, now 51, Aaron Ford became “the man of the house” as a teen after his parents split up. His parents’ divorce meant that Aaron had to watch his younger siblings while his mother worked nights.
Money was tight. But his mother, Denise Cliaborne, put Aaron in the Saturday-school program, Project Upward Bound, which helps students become the first in their families to go on to graduate college.
Aaron Ford later received a scholarship to Texas A&M University, where he would earn his bachelor’s degree. But while in college, Ford became a father at 21. After the relationship with his then-girlfriend ended, Ford took custody of his son Avery and raised him. Those times were tough, and this resulted in Ford seeking public assistance, including the food stamp program now known as the “SNAP.” Ford also received assistance in raising his son through the Woman Infants and Children program, or WIC, and Section 8 housing.
The road to where Ford is today was far from smooth. While in his 20s, he had a number of brushes with the law. Aaron’s life took a positive turn when he met his future wife, Berna, in 1994. The couple are now both lawyers, and are raising four boys, including the Ford’s nephew.
The Fords first landed in Las Vegas in 2000, and moved around for jobs. The couple permanently moved back to Las Vegas in 2007. Before joining Eglet Prince, Aaron Ford was a partner at the Snell & Wilmer law firm’s Las Vegas office. He previously also worked as a middle school math teacher.
Ford recalls how he got involved in politics in the first place: “It started off with my oldest son posing somewhat of a ‘gotcha question’ when I moved the family back to Las Vegas in 2007. He’s in medical school now,” he explains. “But he knew then that he wanted to be a doctor, and with the Clark County School District being ranked so poorly, he asked why moving here would be best for the family.”
Ford says he knew he had to be part of the solution: “My involvement with public service started then and there, when I decided I needed to get involved with what was happening with education in our state,” he continues. “(This was) not just for my family, but for all of Nevada’s families.”
Now settling into his second term as Nevada’s top law enforcement official, Aaron Ford answered a wide range of questions about his stances on issues, as well as his top priorities in his second term as the state’s AG.
Vegas Legal Magazine: As Nevada’s attorney general, can you discuss what your main goals and objectives were for the 2023 Nevada legislative session?
Aaron Ford: We had quite a few goals for the 2023 Legislative session, including protecting victims of domestic violence, ensuring our office has jurisdiction to combat organized retail crime, and combatting the fentanyl epidemic.
Assembly Bill 51 removes the 24-hour arrest rule for battery domestic violence cases, and instead allows an officer to make a probable cause arrest for seven days. The new 7-day arrest rule will apply to violations of Temporary Protection Orders, Emergency Protection Orders and stalking as well.
Assembly Bill 50 specifically added authority for our office to investigate and prosecute organized retail crime, which will allow us to be an active partner with other law enforcement agencies in combating the rising waive of organized retail crime in Nevada.
Lastly, Senate Bill 35 reduces the weights involved in fentanyl trafficking offenses from 100 grams, to: 28-42 grams for a category B felony with a minimum one year and a max of 10 years in prison; 42-100 grams for a category B felony with a minimum of 2 years and a max of 15 years imprisonment. SB 35 also requires prisons and jails to allow medication-assisted treatment for prisons.
Senate Bill 35 is the product of extensive work with stakeholders and is meant to avoid a repeat of the failed “war on drugs” strategy.
VLM: What do you think were your main accomplishments during your first term in office?
AF: My first term brought challenges that nobody could have predicted. A year and a half into my first term, the COVID-19 pandemic threw the entire country into an unprecedented period. I will forever be proud of my staff who worked long hours to ensure our state kept running smoothly and took on extra work responding to the eviction crisis, and reports of fraud by those who sought to take advantage of the situation.
At the same time, our nation was confronted with the reality of police brutality when we witnessed the murder of George Floyd and killing of Breonna Taylor. Tensions were high between law enforcement and many traditionally disenfranchised communities. I listened to and engaged both at virtual town hall meetings.
I was compelled to create real change in law enforcement practices, and subsequently brought forth two reform bills that passed unanimously in the state legislature. Assembly Bill 58 allows my office to investigate potential systemic discrimination in police departments, and Senate Bill 50 puts limits to the use of no-knock warrants by police.
VLM: What are your priorities for your second term as Nevada’s attorney general?
AF: My priority in this second term is the same as it was for my first term, “justice.” Everything we do at the office of the attorney general is about securing and enforcing justice. Whether it’s obtaining a settlement for the state or prosecuting fraudsters, our job is justice, and that will always be my top priority.
VLM: I know you have proposed changes to the laws pertaining to fentanyl possession in Nevada. Can you please talk about the importance of lowering the legal limits on the amount of fentanyl possessed by a person, for the purposes of drug-classification charges and stiffer sentencing?
AF: At the outset, let me note that we did not propose a law about “possession” of fentanyl. Rather, in the 2023 legislative session, my office reduced the amount of fentanyl required for a person to be charged with “trafficking.” Under Senate Bill 35, a low-level fentanyl trafficking charge now ranges from 28 grams to less than 42 grams, and high-level fentanyl trafficking charge ranges from 42 grams to less than 100 grams. Before this bill passed, a person had to be in possession of 100 grams of fentanyl to be charged with trafficking. The bill also creates a new crime that applies to persons who sells to another person a mixture containing fentanyl and another controlled substance and who: One,. knows that the mixture contains fentanyl; and two, intentionally fails to inform the purchaser that the mixture contains fentanyl.
These increases are absolutely not meant to impact those who are suffering from addiction. We were very clear from the outset that this bill was not being introduced to replicate the “War on Drugs” that has seen many people in need of treatment being sentenced to extraordinarily long prison terms.
But the bill’s provisions are meant to give law enforcement the tools to go after those who are distributing fentanyl, with no consideration of its extreme lethality.
VLM: Nevada has received millions of dollars in opioid-settlement money. To what types of programs would you like to see those funds applied?
AF: With our recent settlement with Walgreens, the amount of money that my office has brought into Nevada through these settlements has topped $1.1 billion. I’m extremely proud of the work my office has done in this area, and I want to especially highlight the work done by my chief of my Bureau of Consumer Protection, Mark Krueger, and my Consumer Advocate Ernest Figueroa.
Eglet Adams, our outside counsel, was also an extraordinary force in our work to hold these corporations accountable for the harms inflicted to Nevadans. This firm dedicated a full two-thirds of its personnel to this case, and it expended thousands of hours preparing this case for trial. They were a key part of our wins.
Settlement dollars will be appropriated to mitigate the devastating impacts of the opioid epidemic through the Fund for a Resilient Nevada, and the One Nevada Agreement. I want to thank the members of the Advisory Committee for a Resilient Nevada and the Substance Use Response Group Communities for their commitment to proper stewardship of these funds.
VLM: Gun rights and public safety are hot topics right now. How do you plan to balance protecting the Second Amendment rights of residents with the pressure – from some factions — to implement stricter gun-control laws in Nevada?
AF: Supporting the Second Amendment and advocating for common-sense gun safety measures are not mutually exclusive. For example, measures to keep firearms out of the hands of those afflicted by mental illness do not conflict with the rights of law-abiding Americans to legally access firearms.
But while common-sense gun safety measures can and will reduce gun violence, we must also address the underlying issues that lead to gun violence. These can range from domestic violence to, again, mental health concerns. We have to work together to stop gun violence, but there are many who do not engage in good faith arguments on this issue. We cannot simply throw our hands up and allow the ongoing plague of gun violence to continue.
VLM: Nevada is a state that has the death penalty, however executions in Nevada have been on hold for quite a while now. Even when a condemned prisoner requests to have his death sentence carried out, the state’s hands seem tied. Can you please talk about the current status of capital punishment in Nevada, and where you think the battle over the death penalty is headed in our state?
AF: Well, I have been clear in past comments that while I personally oppose the death penalty, I will enforce the law as written in my job as attorney general. I sincerely hope there is further policy discussion on this issue.
In the meantime, I have a duty to the State of Nevada to do the job I was elected to do, which is to uphold the law. As long as I am attorney general, I will ensure that any executions carried out in Nevada pass constitutional muster.
VLM: You have talked about criminal justice reform, while at the same time pledging to enforce Nevada’s existing laws. Can you please explain more about what your plan would include?
AF: I’ve said this before, but I think it’s a good example. When I was growing up, in the neighborhoods I was in, sometimes you wanted the police to show up because something bad had happened, but other times bad things happened because the police showed up. There was a dichotomy in how people viewed police.
I’m interested in lessening that dichotomy, in ensuring that police are viewed as part of the communities they’re serving and do not cause concern on their arrival. Listen, nobody wants to live in an unsafe neighborhood, so law enforcement as a concept is a necessary part of our society. Police fill an important role as community caretakers, but to perform that role effectively, there must be trust between law enforcement and the communities that we serve. As attorney general, I’ll continue trying to ensure that trust is realized.
VLM: Can you please explain to the readers what types of cases your office handles, as opposed to those cases handled by city or county law enforcement?
AF: The Nevada Attorney General’s office handles a wide variety of cases. People should think of us as the attorney for state government agencies and representation for the people of Nevada in service of public interest. We also investigate and prosecute certain crimes that violate state law.
VLM: You have argued in favor of police body cameras in Nevada. Can you please discuss the importance of law enforcement officers wearing body cameras?
AF: Police body cameras offer transparency and accountability when an officer’s actions come into question in the line of duty. These cameras are important because they help law enforcement learn from mistakes, and help their leaders understand exactly what areas of training need to be implemented or reinforced. If an officer acts improperly or illegally, cameras serve as a record of their actions. Police body cameras also serve to protect law enforcement from untruthful claims of misconduct by the public. Any officer who is doing their job with integrity and according to training protocols should see body cameras a validation tool for all of their hard work.
This is important for marginalized communities which have been, historically, the targets of police impropriety, because there is that added layer of accountability. Obviously, body cameras are not a universal fix for accountability, but they are a step in the right direction.
VLM: Election integrity has been a big concern in Nevada since the pandemic. What steps has your office taken to ensure that we have safe and secure elections in the Silver State?
AF: I stand behind the work my office does to protect the integrity of Nevada’s elections. I urge anyone with a credible allegation of voter fraud to contact my office. While voter fraud can happen, it is exceedingly rare, and I will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who might try to interfere with our free and fair elections.
As you may recall, there was abundant rhetoric alleging mass voter fraud in the 2016 and 2020 presidential election cycles. However, when evidence came to bare, only two instances of voter fraud were uncovered. My office prosecuted those two individuals.
In 2021, for example, we prosecuted a Las Vegas man who had cast his deceased wife’s ballot. It was a particularly egregious case because that gentleman had spread inaccurate information beforehand that was meant to cast doubt on Nevada’s free and fair elections.
VLM: It’s been a year now since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade (with the Dobbs’ decision), leaving abortion rights issues to the states to decide. Abortion is already a right protected in the Nevada Constitution. Therefore, do you see any legal impact on Nevada from the Supreme Court decision?
AF: The right to an abortion is protected in Nevada, and I will take any steps necessary to protect those in our state who wish to access reproductive health care services. I do, however, want to stress that Nevadans must be vigilant against efforts to strip away this right. Due to the Dobbs’ decision, there are no longer any federally protected rights to abortion care. As such, a national law restricting abortion could supersede Nevada law. There are groups that would absolutely push such a law, and we must not let them erode our rights even further.
In addition, restrictions on abortion services in other states could see Nevada become a destination for those who cannot access these services otherwise. While we welcome all to our state, we will not aid any state in investigating or prosecuting those who come to Nevada for an abortion. I want to thank these providers for their work and their commitment to individual health-care decisions.
VLM: You were recently on a list of people banned from entering Russia. I don’t believe the list included a reason for the ban. Why do you think you were banned from entering Russia, and what are your feelings on it?
AF: I can’t speculate as to why I was banned from entering the Russian Federation. It wasn’t on my bucket list of places to visit so; the ban doesn’t bother me in the least.
VLM: What are your future goals, after completing this term as Nevada’s attorney general? Would you ever consider a run for governor or senate in the future?
AF: Right now, my focus is on serving the people of Nevada as their attorney general. It’s been the best job I’ve ever had, and I look forward to continuing the pursuit of justice in all we do.
VLM: Can you please discuss how your life experiences brought you to this point, of being Nevada’s attorney general?
AF: It started off with my oldest son posing somewhat of a “gotcha question” when I moved the family back to Las Vegas in 2007. He’s in medical school now but he knew then that he wanted to be a doctor, and with Clark County School District being ranked so poorly, he asked why moving here would be best for the family.
My involvement with public service started then and there, when I decided I needed to get involved with what was happening with education in our state. (This was) not just for my family, but for all of Nevada’s families. My dedication to Nevada, and the people who live here only deepens with each year. Now, here I am 16 years later, serving as the state attorney general.
Valerie Miller is a Las Vegas Valley-based award-winning journalist. She can be reached at (702) 683-3986 or [email protected].
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