Latest news with #NevadaSupremeCourt
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michele Fiore to appeal judicial suspension to Nevada Supreme Court
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Pahrump judge and former Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore is asking Nevada's high court to rescind her suspension from the bench. Fiore filed a notice of appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court on Wednesday. The Commission on Judicial Discipline suspended Fiore from judicial office with pay in an order filed Monday. The suspension was pending a final decision. Last month, President Donald Trump pardoned Fiore, a Nye County Justice of the Peace, after a jury convicted her of taking money meant for fallen police officers' memorials and spending it on herself. The jury deliberated for two hours, convicting her in federal court on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud. Following Fiore's federal indictment last July, the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline suspended her from office with pay amid the proceedings. The commission later suspended her without pay after her conviction. The commission held a hearing on Friday, May 9, following the pardon to discuss its next steps. In an order filed Monday, the commission kept Fiore suspended pending a final review, citing the allegations against Fiore as 'a substantial threat of serious harm to the public and to the administration of justice.' Fiore will be suspended this time with pay. The order notes that the commission 'has received additional complaints against Fiore' since the pardon. There was no indication in the document filed Monday when the commission could complete its investigation. 'When does this end?' Paola Armeni, Fiore's attorney, said during the May 9 hearing. Armeni added the commission only has jurisdiction over a judge's actions as a sitting judge. 'The commission can no longer issue, rescind, and reinstate based on this conviction, based on the pardon,' Armeni said. 'There is nothing before this commission about her conduct as a judge, nothing.' Trump pardoned Fiore on April 23. First elected as a Republican Nevada assemblywoman in 2012, Fiore later served as Las Vegas mayor pro tem and unsuccessfully ran for governor and treasurer as a Republican. Nye County Commissioners appointed her to her judgeship in late 2022. Last June, before her indictment, voters re-elected Fiore, who is not an attorney, to that position. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nevada Supreme Court announces plans for dedicated business court
Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice Doug Herndon. (Photo: Richard Bednarski/Nevada Current) The chief justice of the Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday announced plans to pursue the creation of a dedicated business court, saying a resolution currently under consideration by the state legislature is not necessary. Chief Justice Douglas Herndon intends to file a petition next month with the Nevada Supreme Court to approve the creation of a Commission to Study the Adjudication of Business Law, according to a media release. That commission will work out specific details, like how judges will be selected for the business court. The expectation is that the dedicated business court will be operational 'within a year.' Why some think Nevada should challenge Delaware as premier destination for corporate lawsuits Herndon's announcement comes on the heels of Assembly Joint Resolution 8, a proposal to amend the Nevada State Constitution to establish a dedicated business court. That resolution passed the full Assembly last month and needs to pass the full Senate by Friday or be declared dead. Then, AJR8 would have to pass the 2027 Legislature before appearing before voters in the 2028 general election for final approval. Herndon in a statement said the court has been 'closely following' legislative discussions on AJR8. 'I'm confident that within our own court system we can enhance our existing approach to business law cases and create a dedicated court where district court judges hear only business cases and do it without any additional fiscal impact on the state,' he said. 'In addition, we can address the timeliness and efficiency of judicial review of business cases, eliminate the need to amend the constitution and the uncertainty associated with waiting years to see if the resolution gets approved.' Democratic Assemblymember Joe Dalia, the sponsor of AJR8, could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Judge says case against Las Vegas police sergeant should move forward
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A judge said a criminal case against a Las Vegas Metro police sergeant should move forward. Clark County District Court Judge Ron Israel denied a motion to stay, or temporarily halt criminal proceedings, in the case against Kevin Menon Monday. Menon, 43, is charged with 13 counts, including three felonies and 10 gross misdemeanors, in his first case. Prosecutors said he abused his power as a police sergeant by creating fake scenarios that resulted in citizens, mainly Black men, being detained on the Las Vegas Strip. Menon is charged with an additional 33 counts, including five felonies and 28 gross misdemeanors after police said they found child sexual abuse material on his electronic devices and cameras installed in Menon's private bathroom. Prosecutors allege Menon used the cameras to watch two family members use the toilet without their knowledge. Las Vegas police sergeant's bail raised to $1 million 'I see no reason for a stay to prolong what has already been almost a year since the first case was filed,' Israel said. 'So I'm denying the stay.' Menon's legal team had argued for Israel to be removed from overseeing his criminal cases, in part due to allegations of abuse from his adult daughter. Clark County District Court Judge Mark Denton ruled against Menon's request. 'The Court cannot find the defendant has met his burden to establish actual or implied bias or lack of impartiality warranting disqualification of Judge Israel,' Denton wrote in his order. Menon's legal team asked the Nevada Supreme Court to disqualify Israel on May 14. Las Vegas police sergeant fails in effort to get judge removed from cases His attorneys alleged 'implied bias' from Israel, asked Nevada's high court to command Denton to order the disqualification of Israel, and questioned why there was no police investigation into Israel's daughter's claims in a petition for writ of mandamus. A jury trial is scheduled for Aug. 18. Menon has claimed in court documents he tried to expose racism within the police department and he is being retaliated against. Las Vegas police sergeant faces new pornography-related charges Menon is in custody on a $1 million cash bail. To reach investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, email vmurphy@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lombardo's crime bill focuses on harsher penalties in Nevada, penalizing repeat offenders
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo is proposing harsher penalties for repeat offenders, DUI drivers and other criminals as part of his sweeping crime bill introduced Monday. Fentanyl trafficking The governor's proposal, Senate Bill 457, lowers the amount prosecutors would need to charge a person accused of trafficking fentanyl to a minimum of four grams. The current threshold is 28. Sentences for fentanyl trafficking would decrease to a maximum of six years for low-level trafficking, but would increase the maximum fine to $50,000. Sentences for high-level trafficking, an amount of 28 grams or more, could include prison sentences of life with parole eligibility after 10 years or 25 years with parole eligibility after 10 years. DUI The proposal amends Nevada's DUI law to clarify the law for impaired driving with the use of marijuana. It also increases the possible sentence for a DUI driver who commits their third offense within seven years or who is undergoing substance misuse treatment to a minimum of two to a maximum of 15 years. Current Nevada law requires a sentence of 1-6 years for a third DUI offense within seven years. It also includes a proposal to charge DUI drivers who kill with second-degree murder, an issue he first discussed with the 8 News Now Investigators in an exclusive interview last month. Nevada prosecutors have tried to charge DUI drivers, who kill a person and who speed and who drive with no care for another person's life, with murder, but the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that the state's DUI with death law was more appropriate. A change in state statute would reverse that problem. Enhanced penalties The proposal calls for additional penalties for felons who reoffend. Should a reoffender commit that crime while out of custody on a prior offense, a judge could sentence them to an additional year to 20 years in prison. In addition, the limit to become a 'habitual criminal' would drop to two previous convictions rather than the current five. A fiscal note from the Department of Corrections notes the changes in habitual criminal convictions would add $42 million to the state's budget every biennium. The department estimates it costs $91 to house an offender per day, and it expects hundreds of new offenders to enter the prison system should the bill become law as written. Shoplifting The bill decreased the felony-theft threshold from $1,200 to $750. For the bill to pass, Lombardo will have to compromise with Democrats who control both the Nevada Assembly and Nevada Senate. This story will be updated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sex abuse trial of former 'Dances with Wolves' actor in Nevada is again postponed
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The sex abuse trial of former 'Dances with Wolves' actor Nathan Chasing Horse in Nevada has again been postponed. A judge on Monday moved the start of the trial in state court in Las Vegas to Aug. 4. The 48-year-old had been scheduled to stand trial next week on charges that he sexually abused Indigenous women and girls for years in the Las Vegas area. Craig Mueller, Chasing Horse's lawyer, said in a motion filed Friday that he needs more time to prepare and interview witnesses. It's the latest in a series of delays since Chasing Horse was arrested and indicted in early 2023. Chasing Horse has pleaded not guilty to 21 felonies, including sexual assault of a minor under 16, kidnapping and producing and possessing videos of child sexual abuse. If convicted of the sexual assault charges, he could face decades or life in prison. After starring as Smiles A Lot in the 1990 Oscar-winning film 'Dances with Wolves,' Chasing Horse began promoting himself as a self-proclaimed Lakota medicine man while traveling around North America to perform healing ceremonies, authorities have said. He was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation. Prosecutors say Chasing Horse used his position to gain access to vulnerable women and girls for decades until his arrest near Las Vegas. He has been jailed ever since, but criminal proceedings were at a standstill for more than a year while Chasing Horse challenged his original indictment. It was eventually dismissed after the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors had abused the grand jury process when they provided a definition of grooming as evidence without any expert testimony. The high court's order, however, left open the possibility for charges to be refiled, and prosecutors quickly took their case before another grand jury. Chasing Horse was again indicted in October. The indictment added new allegations that he filmed himself having sex with one of his accusers when she was younger than 14. Prosecutors have said the footage, taken in 2010 or 2011, was found on cellphones in a locked safe inside the North Las Vegas home that Chasing Horse is said to have shared with five wives, including the girl in the videos. His case has been unfolding at the same time lawmakers and prosecutors around the U.S. are funneling more resources into cases involving Native women, including human trafficking and killings.
