Brian McKay is an American attorney and politician who served as the 28th

Nevada Attorney General The Nevada Attorney General is the chief legal officer for the U.S. state of Nevada. The functions of the office are set forth in Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 228. The Attorney General represents the people of Nevada in civil and criminal mat ...

from 1983 to 1991. McKay also served as chairman of the

Nevada Republican Party The Nevada Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Nevada. The organization has a history that goes back to 1864. The party currently controls Nevada's Governor of Nevada, governorship, Nevad ...

from 1992 to 1995.

Early life and education

Mckay was born in

Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...

, in 1945. He served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

from 1966 to 1969. After his discharge, McKay attended

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

, graduating in 1971, and received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary ...

in 1974.

Career

After law school, McKay became a Deputy Attorney General, working there for four years. McKay represented the Colorado River Commission, served as Chief Legal Counsel to the Nevada Equal Rights Commission, and was special counsel for the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded ...

. McKay joined the Advisory Policy Board of the National Crime Information Center in 1985, serving three terms. McKay was elected Nevada's Attorney General in 1982, defeating Democrat B. Mahlon Brownn the former U.S. attorney for Nevada. McKay was re-elected in 1986 against Clark County District Attorney Roy A. Woofter. During his first Christmas as Attorney General, McKay issued an advisory opinion in response to questions by Nevada children and confirmed that Santa Clause is indeed real. In April 1987, McKay represented Nevada at the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

in '' Sumner v. Shuman'', in which the court held that a death sentence cannot be mandatory. After leaving office, McKay served as a member of the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...

and as the chair of the Nevada Republican Party from 1992 to 1995. As chairman, McKay filed complaints against the

Nevada Democratic Party The Nevada State Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Nevada. It has been chaired by Daniele Monroe-Moreno since March 2023. It is currently the state's favored party, co ...

with the FEC for financial disclosure violations.FEC Complaint
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Brian 1945 births Living people Nevada Republicans Nevada lawyers Colgate University alumni Albany Law School alumni Nevada attorneys general State political party chairs of Nevada Federal Trade Commission personnel