Defense lawyers think a new plea bargaining policy is overwhelming the court system and disincentivizing plea deals. The county's top prosecutor says the rise is in part due to the pandemic.

Federal prosecutors have charged a Las Vegas man for making a series of antisemitic, misogynistic calls to a U.S. senator in Nevada, allegedly threatening to “exterminate” her.

Carlos Perez died in 2014 after a correctional trainee officer fired birdshot rounds in the head, chest, neck and arm. His death prompted lawsuits and changes in prison use of force policies.

By the end of 2021, Nevada’s incarcerated population reached its lowest level in two decades at less than 10,400 people, down from a recent peak of more than 14,000 in 2016, according to data published by the Nevada Department of Sentencing Policy. 

Legislators required the Department of Public Safety to launch the dashboard after they received enough funding. It was part of a broader 2021 bill that limited use of force practices.

Clark County School District has filed an emergency motion against the Clark County Education Association over a number of teacher absences throughout the past two weeks that have cancelled classes.

The Fred family has fought for years to regain permanent control of their home, which was a refuge for family members experiencing homeless. They're arguing civil forfeitures violate double jeopardy laws.

At the meeting, prison officials provided results from a dietary inspection and details about new reentry programs and food menus that Dzurenda said will revert to the portions that were available before 2019, a change he said was prompted after “one complaint from one offender — to Health and Human Services.”

Youth attendees spoke about feeling led astray by rap music and television, neglected or abandoned by leaders and over-policed in schools or neighborhoods — calling for simple solutions such as mentorship or “open gym,” which means free access to gyms inside community centers to play a wide variety of games or sports.

The vendor’s lawyer attributes the situation to confusion about a new, but not fully implemented law regulating the once marginalized street vending industry.

County commissioners said they plan to have officials bring the recommendations back next session, which included a $1 million appropriation from the state general fund to the Department of Public Safety to establish an Advisory Task Force on Automatic Record Sealing.

Under SB35, low-level trafficking of 28 to 42 grams of fentanyl will now be a category B felony, punishable by one to 10 years imprisonment, and high-level trafficking of 42 to 100 grams will be punishable by two to 15 years imprisonment.

Originally aiming for decriminalization, the final version of SB242 only created a working group to study the use of psychedelics and the impact that decriminalization could have in the state. 

According to updated national FBI data, there was a 167 percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes during the first year of the pandemic — with 746 instances of crimes against Asians in 2021 versus 279 in 2020.

Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald and Republican National Committeeman Jim DeGraffenreid reportedly received limited immunity to testify to a grand jury about their roles in the effort to overturn the 2020 election in Nevada, according to CNN.

SB307 outlines new regulations for the use of solitary confinement that are more stringent and individualized than a similar 2017 bill and mandates annual NDOC reports.

Jodi Hocking, founder of the nonprofit inmate advocacy group Return Strong, helped present a bill that would create an Office of the Ombudsman — impartial and independent of the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) — that would manage grievances filed by prisoners that adversely affect the health, safety, welfare and rights of those in custody. The office would be under the administration of the attorney general. 

Ford said he would continue to assist the federal Department of Justice in its investigation into the matter.

The shortfall would leave the state unable to fund compensation claims for crime victims, legislative fiscal staff told lawmakers, adding that it could even mean the state is unable to qualify for additional federal funding used to support victims.

The agency’s plan is to reduce the number of operating conservation camps to six for the upcoming two-year budget cycle, closing the camps operating in Ely, Tonopah and Hawthorne.