Justice
State officials to audit bail bonds companies for compliance
A disproportionate number of the consumer complaints filed with the Nevada Division of Insurance are related to the bail industry. In response, state officials have launched a new initiative — called the Bail Compliance Project — to try and get ahead of the problems plaguing these companies. Beginning this month, state officials will visit every […]
Advocates seek to strengthen laws regarding sterilization of disabled people
Disability advocates are calling on Nevada legislators to create additional protections for intellectually disabled people whose legal guardians wish to have them sterilized. A legislative committee focused in part on adults with special needs unanimously voted to look into revising the statute governing the sterilization of people who are under legal guardianship. The July 19 […]
Judge troubled by allegations of dirty cops
A Clark County judge says allegations of police misconduct in a case that sent a convicted pimp to prison for life are “very troubling.” Judge Michael Villani sent Ocean Fleming to prison in 2012 based, in part, on the testimony of witnesses who now contend they were coached and coerced by then-Metro Vice Detectives Chris […]
Sex sells. Who’s minding the store?
“The idea is there’s a lot of money in a very, very small space. The criminals know it. That’s why they flock to the city. Because of it you see a lot of people coming here and trafficking in women. We also have a slogan here – “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” – […]
Attorney calls for law change following failure to prosecute alleged baby sex offender
Sometimes confessing to a crime, even to police, is not enough to make the case. Las Vegas attorney Stephen Stubbs is defending his decision to identify an alleged child molestor on Facebook and a YouTube video post because Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson has so far declined to file charges. Stubbs says he […]
As Legal Aid Center turns 60, it pushes to endow its future
A 29-year-old mother seeking asylum for herself and her two young children after witnessing a gang-related murder and receiving death threats in her native Honduras. An Oct. 1 victim worried about possible wage garnishment over money she owes to a cosmetology school that refused to defer her enrollment after the mass shooting, which left her […]
MGM lawsuit labels mass shooting as “terrorism”
Defying every principle of tourism marketing honed over decades by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, transnational gaming giant MGM Resorts International is labeling the mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip as terrorism. As first reported by the Las Vegas Review Journal, MGM is suing more than a thousand concert attendees, some of […]
Time to rethink Nevada’s death penalty?
“They said we could not obtain lethal drugs. I do not believe that is accurate.” – Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson in March 2017, testifying against a bill to abolish the death penalty The on-again, off-again execution of Scott Dozier may be an indication that it’s time Nevada lawmakers, who appear to overwhelmingly support […]
Metro still mum on New Year’s Eve accidental shooting
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police are refusing to disclose the outcome of an internal investigation into Officer Al Beas’ New Year’s Eve accidental discharge of a police rifle on the Las Vegas Strip. A bystander was grazed by the bullet from the semi-automatic rifle, but because the shooting was accidental, not a use-of-force, the public […]
Survivors: No closure from death penalty
The entry in the pregnancy journal reads “Tim watched in delivery a very beautiful experience. Baby Sara was born. We both love her very much.” Las Vegan Sandra Devere gave birth to Sara Joy on August 17, 1983. The young bartender, known to her Clark and Bonanza high school friends by her maiden name, Sandra […]
Guest op-ed: Reminder to progressives – courts matter
As I stood beside the podium, preparing to speak out against the previous day’s Supreme Court decision, which upheld the Trump Administration’s travel ban targeting several predominantly Muslim countries, a familiar buzz in my pocket signaled breaking news. I hesitated to check my phone at first, knowing that it would soon be my turn to […]
Patchwork state laws fail medical marijuana patients
Jeff Krajnak did multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Navy Seabee. After 15 years of service, his squad was hit with an improvised explosive device. “It changed me forever,” Krajnak said. After developing PTSD and related pain issues, he was medically discharged from the military. During his nights, the traumas of war raked […]