Law Library Closed in Observance of Veterans' Day

The Supreme Court Library will be closed on Friday, November 11, 2011 in observance of Veterans' Day.  The Library will reopen at 8 a.m. on Monday, November 14.

Residency Requirements

While working on another matter, I recently discovered an interesting document on the Legislative Counsel Bureau Research Division's Publications/Fact Sheets page:  Fact Sheet on Residency Requirements in Nevada.  It includes links to relevant NRS citations.  For example, if one wondered how long s/he needed to live in Nevada to be eligible to vote:

Persons are eligible to vote if, before an election, they have continuously resided in the State and the county for 30 days and in the precinct for 10 days (NRS 293.485). 

Supreme Court Library CLOSED on Friday, July 22, 2011 for furloughs

The Supreme Court Library will be closed on Friday, July 22 for staff furloughs.  The Supreme Court building, including the Clerk's Office, will be open.  The law library will reopen at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 25, 2011. 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

New (Fiscal) Year, New Presumptive Maximum Amounts of Child Support

Back in October of 2010 we blogged about Presumptive Maximum Amounts (PMA) of Child Support.  PMAs are adjusted every year effective July 1, so there is a new document available on the Court's website with the new amounts.

The presumptive maximum amounts for July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012 may be found on the Supreme Court's website under Documents and Forms | Self-Help/Pro Se | Family Division Forms. PMAs back to July 1, 2003 are also available from the court's website.

Prime Interest Rates - Update

Since it is now July and the State Commissioner of Financial Institutions has ascertained the rate of interest on judgments (pdf) I have updated my post on judgment interest rates. There is a link to the Prime Interest Rate  in the Financial Institutions Index (left navigation bar) on the Financial Institutions Division page. The Washoe County Court also provides the rates (scroll down).

Library Doors to be Relocked - Westside Interior Doors

Beginning tomorrow the Westside interior doors to the Law Library will once again be locked.  Please use the Eastside doors to access the Library.

Filing for Unemployment Benefits

Nevada Legal Services has a nice brochure on filing for unemployment benefits, including what to do if benefits are denied.  There is a sample petition (PDF) for judicial review with instructions (PDF).  The Eighth Judicial District Court Clerk's office has a generic petition for judicial review (PDF) which we highlighted in an earlier post.

Divorced in Nevada

Now known as a location for fabulous weddings, in the 20th century Nevada was a haven for the rich and famous seeking "quickie" divorces although not everyone seeking a Nevada divorce was rich or famous.  Are you wondering if your long-lost spouse divorced you in Nevada?  Divorce records are located at the county level, but you may contact the state Department of Vital Records (775-684-4242, vitalrecords@health.nv.gov) to determine in which county a divorce was granted.  There is a request form which includes county recorder contact information. 

Marriage and Divorce Records

Please note that marriage and divorce records are held at the county level. For certified copies of marriage certificates, you must write to the County Recorder in the county where the license was purchased. For divorce records, you must write to the County Clerk in the county where the divorce was granted. Our Office can search for and verify events occurring after 1968 if you submit a request containing the full name(s) of the person whose record you are searching for, the approximate date of the event and the city where you believe the event occurred. The fee for verification of a record is $10.00 for each name searched.

For those interested in the topic, the State Bar of Nevada's series of pamphlets includes one on divorce (pdf) law in Nevada.

As always, it is a good idea to contact a licensed attorney.  The Bar maintains a Lawyer Referral Service. 

2011 Nevada Jury Instructions -- Civil

The State Bar of Nevada recently published the Nevada Jury Instructions -- Civil, a revision of model civil jury instructions.  The 2011 edition is a three-ring binder with an included CD-ROM.  Topics include negligence, personal injury, intentional torts, products liability, premises liability, medical malpractice, fraud, punitive damages, contracts, contractual relationships, commercial torts, employment, and construction defects.  There is also an appendix with forms.  More info on this publication is available on the bar's website. 

The previous version was the Nevada Pattern Jury Instructions published by Michie (now LexisNexis) in 1986.  

First Judicial District Court Forms

The First Judicial District Court continues to add forms for use by the public. There are now forms for motions, motions on divorce/custody, response to motion and orders. 

As always, these forms are in no way intended to substitute for the advice of counsel and consultation with an attorney is recommended.

Nevada Reports online

The Clerk's Office recently announced it has posted the preliminary print of Nevada Reports pages to the court's website.  The pages will be updated in batches as book pages are released and will posted to the website under a tab labeled "Decisions" on the court's home page (right-hand side under "Supreme Court Cases)."

Here's a direct link:  http://www.nevadajudiciary.us/index.php/nevada-reports

As of today, is limited to the first 265 pages of Volume 125 of the Nevada Reports.

Nevada Legislature Open Poll

The Legislature is making it easy for the public to share its opinion on pending legislation with the Opinion Poll.

The Opinion Poll portion of this site contains constituent opinions for the 76th (2011) Session of the Nevada Legislature. Feel free to view constituent opinions by clicking on the links above.

Throughout a legislative session, legislators review these opinions to gain perspective on how constituents in their districts feel about legislation. Constituent names, addresses and other personal information are NOT made public, but are available to legislators so that they will know who is submitting the comment and are able to contact the constituent if they so desire. Only opinion totals and comments are made publicly available on this site.

Select the bill number (use Nelis or the Subject Index to identify bills), vote For or Against, leave a comment if you like and enter your constituent information. 

Workshops for Self-represented Litigants

From the Nevada Appeal:

Nevada Legal Services continues its informative series of free workshops and assistance from 1-3 p.m. and 3:30-5:30 p.m. Thursday in the auditorium. The first session provides help for those litigants who are representing themselves and need clarification filling out legal forms. The later workshop addresses foreclosures, a topic affecting many Nevadans. The first series was very well attended, so registration is necessary. Call 775-284-3491 ext. 230 to secure both a space and the handout materials.

Note this announcement was in the 2/20/11 edition of the Appeal, so those interested should call Nevada Legal Services to confirm the next scheduled workshop.

Supreme Court Docket Online

The Court's case management system is now available via a public portal.

All Supreme Court case documents, with rare exceptions, can now be accessed through the court’s website, announced Tracie Lindeman, Clerk of the Court. Nevada is one of only a few appellate courts nationally to offer such access to case records at no cost.

***

On the right side of the home page of the Supreme Court website (www.nevadajudiciary.us) is a box labeled “Supreme Court Cases” with a subheading of “Case Search.” After clicking on the “Case Search” link, a viewer can access a file by typing in the name of a party or the case number.

New Books in the Library

The December New Titles list (pdf) has been posted. You can find a link to it under News and Events on the right-hand side towards the bottom of the page. The list is organized alphabetically by subject heading.

If you want to browse new books received in December, they are displayed on the new book shelf in the sitting area. You may check out anything that doesn't have REF in the call number.