Justice
NDOC’s pandemic response warrants state investigation, group says
As COVID-19 cases begin to increase in correctional facilities, worrying those incarcerated and their families about future lockdowns and worsened living conditions, prisoner rights advocates are calling on the state to investigate the Nevada Department of Corrections’ handling of the pandemic. Return Strong, a prisoner advocacy group, recently released a report based on stories collected […]
Laxalt takes stand, denies role in cannabis licensing scheme
Republican U.S. Senate candidate and former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt testified Friday he doesn’t remember if he told the FBI he had dinner with Lev Parnas, Rudy Giuliani’s former colleague and a defendant in a federal corruption case in the Southern District of New York. Parnas is charged with making illegal campaign contributions. Laxalt, […]
2nd Amendment case before Supreme Court could topple gun restrictions
The stakes in one of the most significant Second Amendment cases in U.S. history are high. The Supreme Court’s ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, expected by mid-2022, could declare a New York state restriction on carrying concealed handguns in public places unconstitutional. Such a ruling in favor of […]
FBI to investigate threats made against school board members, teachers
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice has directed the FBI to meet with local governments and law enforcement to discuss strategies for dealing with increasing threats to teachers and school board members spurred by a conservative backlash against discussions of race in public schools. “Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our […]
Report tracks federal response to human trafficking in Nevada
The Human Trafficking Institute released its 2020 State Reports Monday, which provide an overview of 2020 federal human trafficking prosecutions in all 50 states. The report does not capture data from state prosecutions, state civil suits, or unreported human trafficking cases. The group notes that its findings are not a prevalence estimate of human trafficking […]
The hypocrisy in how refugees are treated by the US government
After horrific photos emerged of men falling from airplanes and babies in great peril at the Kabul Airport weeks ago, I noticed a dramatic uptick in my various news feeds of the phrase “moral obligation.” Across all mediums, I heard the righteous call for the United States and nations around the globe to remember promises […]
DMV reviewing 33K records to determine driver’s license reinstatement eligibility
The Department of Motor Vehicles has identified more than 33,000 records of people potentially eligible to have their driver’s license reinstated by a state law that goes into effect Friday. Sean Sever, deputy administrator for the DMV, said the plan is to review all records by the end of the year and that people shouldn’t […]
Catholic bishops, faith leaders call on Sisolak to hold clemency hearing for Floyd
Bishops representing 650,000 Catholics in the Las Vegas and Reno dioceses are asking Gov. Steve Sisolak, a self-professed devout Catholic, to convene the Pardons Board and spare the life of condemned killer Zane Floyd. Attorneys for Floyd argue he should spend the rest of his life in prison because jurors who sentenced him to death […]
U.S. Supreme Court schedules Dec. 1 oral arguments in major abortion case
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Dec. 1 in a case that threatens to overturn decades of abortion protections established under the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade. The upcoming case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, stems from a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks. It has been […]
Painter disabled in fall at stadium stung by contractors’ message of ‘zero injuries’
A 150-foot boom lift that toppled during construction of Allegiant Stadium in August 2020, plunging the painter in the basket to the ground 100 feet below, malfunctioned twice in the three days preceding the accident, according to a Nevada OSHA report obtained by the Current. Christopher Casarez, a 52-year-old painter, has undergone three surgeries for […]
Democrats include youth violence prevention bill in reconciliation package
When U.S. Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford was 19, his father was shot and killed. He almost lost his mother as well, who struggled with drug addiction before she became sober 26 years ago. Nearly three decades later, Horsford sat at the West Las Vegas Library on Monday listening to a group of predominantly Black youth […]
Eyes on Congress after Supremes refuse to block Texas abortion ban
Ending Texas’s ban on abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy is now up to Congress, experts say, given the refusal of the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court to block the controversial law, which relies on citizens, rather than the state, to sue anyone they believe may have assisted in the provision of […]