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As our State enters Phase 2 of recovery, in order to ensure access to justice and to prevent an excessive backlog of cases, the District Court will begin hearing all cases. The safety of the public and court staff remains a priority. Administrative Order 20-17, entered jointly with the Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court provides for continued extensive use of alternative means appearances, social distancing protocols, and mask wearing to allow the business of the Court to go forward safely.
Below is a brief look at some of the highlights. Those with matters in District Court should review the actual order to get accurate information on how the court is moving forward in Phase 2.
For purposes of clarity and to avoid confusion, AO 20-17 supersedes AO 20-01 through 20-13 and 20-16. Any portions of those orders that remain in effect are included in AO 20-17. The process for electronic processing of search warrants remains in effect. Except where otherwise noted, AO 20-17 became effective June 1.
Governor Sisolak’s May 7, 2020 Declaration of Emergency Directive employers to take proactive measures to ensure compliance with social distancing and sanitation guidelines and to follow guidelines promulgated by the Nevada State Occupational Safety and Health Administration (NV OSHA).
The District Court is complying with the governor’s directive and is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all employees and the public we serve. To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, we will need to change many of our ordinary practices in a manner that reduces the risks associated with this public health emergency. Consequently, the following precautions are ordered: Screening Protocols will be in place during this time. It is critical to prevent the spread of illness among members of the Court, counsel, staff, the public, and our community partners. The Centers for Disease Control has advised people to take precautions to stay healthy and that the best way to prevent illness and to avoid exposure. As a result, District Court Administration shall maintain notices at the entrance of all District Court facilities advising the following people may not enter the Court facility: persons who have traveled out of the country in the past 14 days or who reside with someone who has traveled out of the country in the past 14 days; persons who have been asked to self-quarantine by any doctor, hospital, or health agency; persons who have been diagnosed with coronavirus and not medically cleared or persons who have had contact in the past 14 days with anyone diagnosed with coronavirus and not medically cleared; or persons with unexplained fever, cough, or shortness of breath.
The Marshal’s Division may develop screening protocols including screening question and temperature checks if deemed appropriate. Anyone attempting to enter in violation of these protocols or refusing to comply with the protocols will be denied entry by District Court Marshals. District Court Administration will also maintain a customer service number in cooperation with the Las Vegas Municipal Court and Las Vegas Justice Court to assist all person unable to enter the Court facility because of exposure or illness. If a person is unable to appear in Court because of the restrictions, that person may call 702-455-4472 to speak to a customer service representative for assistance in rescheduling their court appearance, arranging for appearance by alternative means or to obtain other information based on the circumstances of the appearance. Due to restrictions on the entrants to the court facilities and to reduce the potential for spread of infection, appearances by alternative means are strongly encourage whenever possible. This includes all case types.
The District Court has four methods of appearance by alternative means: videoconference through a BlueJeans application, telephone conference through BlueJeans, regular telephone, and CourtCall (since CourtCall involves a cost to the litigants; no party may be required to use CourtCall at this time). Use of BlueJeans is strongly favored given the number of people the system c accommodate and its compatibility with the JAVS system. Video is also favored as it aids communication and produces a better record.
Attorneys, parties, and witnesses are reminded that alternative means still constitutes court appearance and attire should remain professional and court appropriate. Appearance should be made from a quiet place that is free of distractions. Also, for the safety of the community and for the quality of the audio recording, no appearances by alternative means should be made while driving. The requirement for a formal written notice of any appearance by alternative means is suspended. Arrangements for alternative appearances may be made via e-mail to the department judicial executive assistant (JEA). E-mails about scheduling appearances should not be sent to the department inboxes.
Attorney appearing by video, or having clients/witnesses/agency representatives/probation officers app by alternative means, must notify the department via e-mail at least one judicial day before the appearance. In juvenile cases, parents or guardians may provide their e-mail addresses to the juvenile’s attorney to arrange for the appearance. The e-mail to the department must include the case numbers for the proceeding and the names and e-mail addresses for each person appearing by video. This will allow the department to send a link to appear via video. If arrangements need to be made on shorter notice due to an emergency, the judicial department must be contacted by phone.
Media reporters may request to attend any public court proceeding by alternative means for the purpose of observing the proceedings. Any reporter requesting an appearance in this manner must contact the department for a BlueJeans video link. Reporters appearing by alternative means must remain on mute and are not permitted to interject or speak during a proceeding. A reporter violating this rule will lose the ability to appear by alternative means.
Members of the public must wear face coverings that cover their noses and mouths. Face coverings must be worn at all times while in any court facility and while in any security screening line to enter a court facility. All District Court employees must cover their noses and mouths with face covering while at work unless they are alone in unshared work space. This includes all common areas of any facility as well as parking lots, back hallways, employee-only elevators, shared restroom and break rooms. All attorneys, vendors, and employees of any organization or entity who work in a court facility must cover their noses and mouths with face coverings while in any common areas of the facilities. Common areas include, but are not limited to, security screening, lobby areas, public elevators, employee elevators, shared back hallways, public restrooms and courtrooms. This includes, but is not limited to, employees of Las Vegas Municipal Court, Las Vegas Justice Court, Legal Aid Self-Help Centers, Clark County Clerk’s Main Office, Clark County District Attorney’s Office, Clark County Public Defender’s Office, Clark County Department of Juvenile Justice Services, Clark County Department of Family Services, and contract counsel.
Employee of other organizations or entities with space in court facilities are subject to the policies of their individual employer while in their own organization’s work space. Children under the age of two and individuals who are unable to remove the face covering without assistance do not have to comply with the above-referenced face covering directives.
Individuals who are unable to wear a face covering should make arrangements appear by alternative means. Face coverings must cover the nose and mouth at all times. Meeting by telephone, teleconference, videoconference or e-mail remains preferred. To protect judicial resources and prevent the spread of illness among members of the court, counsel, staff, public and community partners, there shall be no in-person gatherings of meetings to discuss court business of more than 50 people. Any in-person meeting must observe social distancing and mask requirements. No food or beverages may be served at in-person meetings.
The Clerk’s Office remains closed to in-person filing for the safety of the clerks and to minimize building traffic, the Clerk’s Offices at both the Regional Justice Center and the Family Court will remain closed to in-person filing until further notice. Filings must be completed electronically. For litigants who do not have the ability to electronically file documents, documents may be mailed as follows: District Court Civil Criminal Division Attn: Clerk’s Office Regional Justice Center 200 Lewis Ave. Las Vegas, NV S91 SS District Court Family Division Attn: Clerk’s Office Family Court 601 N. Pecos Rd. Las Vegas, NV 89155 The Clerk’s Office shall maintain a safety protocol for clerks tasked with opening mail and handling paper documents. Counsel should contact the Court Clerk for handling of documents that cannot be converted to electronic format.
Other than mail, no paper documents will be accepted by the court at this time. Call (702) 455-4472 with questions regarding filing.
The continuance of any trial or evidentiary hearing will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Attorneys may have difficulty obtaining witnesses or being prepared for evidentiary proceedings in the period immediately following the duration of the administrative order relating to COVID-19. Judges will examine the merits of any application for a continuance, balancing the consequences of a delay in the proceedings and the constraints placed on attorneys and litigants to prepare for a trial or evidentiary hearing.
In-person depositions may go forward effective July 1, 2020 as long as social distancing protocols are observed. Until that date, no in-person depositions shall proceed except stipulation or order obtained after filing a motion demonstrating good cause for the need for in-person deposition. Deposition by alternative means is the preferred method of handling depositions.
Discovery (Civil and Domestic) All discovery hearings in both the civil and domestic case types shall continue to be conducted by alternative means. The tolling of discovery deadlines will end on July 1, 2020.
In order to assist with the backlog of trials, judicial settlement conferences are encouraged. Settlement conferences may be held by alternative means. If the settlement conference is not held by alternative means, the judge and attorneys must develop a social distancing plan prior to the settlement conference. All participants must wear masks that cove their noses and mouths. Civil and Family Division settlement conference programs will resume on July 1, 2020 Settlement briefs and supporting exhibits must be submitted electronically. Counsel may also contact individual judges to request settlement conferences or reach out to the assigned departments to submit a request for a senior judge to conduct a settlement conference.
Criminal Division settlement conferences will resume on June 1, 2020. Requests for settlement conferences should be submitted via e-mail on the settlement conference form to the Chief Judge. The form must be completely filled out or the conference will not be set. In custody criminal settlement conferences will be scheduled to take place in the Lower Level Arraignment courtroom. Priority will be given to trials where the defendant is in-custody and has invoked speedy trial rights and to older homicide cases.
Beginning the week of June 1, the jury commissioner will begin summonsing jurors for 16 jury trials. To maintain social distancing and juror safety, one panel of jurors will be summons per day for District Court. The District Court will prioritize trials beginning with criminal cases involving interstate compact issues and criminal cases in which the defendant has invoked speedy trial rights. After those cases, the priority will be civil case with preferential trial settings; older in-custody criminal cases; and older civil cases, particularly those with NRCP 41(e) timeline concerns.
This order shall continue to stay trials in civil cases for purposes of tolling NRCP 41(e) except where a District Court Judge makes findings to lift the stay in a specific case to allow the case to be tried. The time period of any continuance entered as a result of this order shall be excluded for the purposes of calculating speedy trial under NRS 118.556(1) and NRS 174.511 as the Court finds that the ends of justice served by taking this action outweigh the interests of the parties an public in a speedy trial. Writs of execution and garnishment have been stayed by the Governor’s Directive. No new writs of execution or garnishment may be issued while the stay is in place. The stay does not apply to child support, spousal support, or criminal restitution. Any change of termination of that directive will be determined by the Governor.
Above are a few highlights from the order. To get all the details see the Full Administrative Order 20-17
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