Justice
Marsy’s Law: Sounds good, but is it?
Looking at states that have had trouble following Marsy’s Law passage, various attorneys and local civil rights groups are concerned about what the ballot measure, if passed, means for Nevada. Those opposed to the measure are worried about it slowing down the system, costing the state money, violating due process of defendants and even shielding […]
LV Bishop condemns ‘patterns of negligence, denial, and obfuscation’
Bishop George Leo Thomas is new to his job in Nevada, but the leader of the Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas is no stranger to guiding his flock through the quagmire of sexual abuse that has plagued the Roman Catholic Church for decades and currently threatens its future. A grand jury report released this month […]
One step closer to decriminalizing traffic tickets
Last week the final meeting of a legislative committee studying the possibility of decriminalizing traffic violations and treating them as civil matters moved forward with a bill draft request to do just that. In Nevada, even minor traffic violations like driving with a broken tail light are treated as a misdemeanor, meaning a failure to […]
Health officials say no hazard, city pushes “Anderson dairy bill” anyway
“Discuss Anderson dairy bill – abey?” Scott Adams, the city manager for the City of Las Vegas, wrote in an email Aug. 10, days before the council was scheduled to vote on a proposed bill that keeps homeless people away from certain businesses. Email records requested and obtained by Nevada Current show Anderson Dairy played […]
Shipped to Arizona, Nevada inmates launch hunger strike
Multiple Nevada Department Correction inmates housed at an Arizona facility began a hunger strike this week. Though it coincides with the Nationwide Prison Strike happening in several states, Holly Welborn, the policy director with the ACLU of Nevada, says complaints indicate inmates have their own concerns. “They have more specific demands than the 10 […]
NV one of 11 death penalty states not to use it for a decade or more
The fifteen states that have joined Nevada’s suit to let Nevada execute Scott Dozier, in what would be the first execution in Nevada since 2006, are predominantly states that have executed someone much more recently. The one exception — Nebraska — is scheduled to execute someone Tuesday. Nine of the 15 – Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, […]
Revenue model: Nevada courts rely on criminalized traffic tickets
Thirty-seven states across the country consider traffic infractions civil matters that do not lead to jail time. Nevada is not one of them. In Nevada, even minor traffic infractions like speeding are treated as a misdemeanor, meaning a failure to appear in court or the inability to pay a ticket renders a person subject to […]
Lawyer resorts to public shaming for legislative support
Attorney Stephen Stubbs is out to change a law that prevents prosecutors from filing criminal charges in some cases involving very young or mentally disabled victims who can’t testify that a crime occurred, and he says he doesn’t care what it takes to do it — even if it means resorting to public shaming. Stubbs […]
Alleged parent/child sex pact highlights perils of foster and at-risk children
A popular Christian radio personality, youth baseball official and parent of five adopted foster children has a long history of committing sexual abuse and was plotting a strange virginity pact involving his child and the stepchildren of his girlfriend, according to two close family members. The allegations raise serious questions about the vetting of potential […]
State’s private “offender services” contractor refers parolee to embattled rehab
A pricey Las Vegas drug and alcohol rehab that is being sued for wrongful death and is owned by a company asked to testify this summer before a Congressional subcommittee about its marketing practices is getting business from an unlikely source — the State of Nevada. The Nevada Division of Parole and Probation frequently refers offenders […]
Clark County D.A. Steve Wolfson sets double standard for grand jury cases
It’s a tale of two prosecutions. One defendant, Kenneth Lopera, is a former Las Vegas Metro Police officer, charged with two felony counts of involuntary manslaughter and oppression under the color of office, in connection with the death of Tashi Brown. The second defendant, Nick Diaz, is the pot-smoking, self-proclaimed bad boy star of the Ultimate […]
DA race over, but push for reform isn’t
A 55-year-old white male was arrested July 31 because of a citation he received in February for expired license plates, registration violations and making an improper U-turn. His cash bail, according to Clark County Detention Center records, totaled $2,005. Unpaid tickets for driving without a license and speeding at least 20 miles over the limit […]