Nevada

FBI turned off hotel Web service then sent ‘repairmen’ to get evidence, defense lawyers say

Against the advice of a federal prosecutor, FBI agents turned off the Internet service at three luxury hotel villas in Las Vegas and then sent “repairmen” in to collect evidence for a sports-betting case, defense lawyers say. The allegations are the latest in a trifecta of recent news reports claiming…

Oct 29, 2014 3:15 PM CDT

OJ Simpson asks Nevada Supreme Court for new trial

O.J. Simpson has thrown a legal Hail Mary in the hopes of getting his 2008 conviction for armed robbery and kidnapping thrown out. The Associated Press reported Monday that Simpson’s lawyers have filed their final appellate brief to the Nevada Supreme Court. Simpson, who was convicted of leading a group…

Oct 27, 2014 3:53 PM CDT

Inmates at 2 jails falsely cried Ebola, officials say; one defendant now faces a new charge

It isn’t just the general public that is thinking about the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. At least two criminal defendants being held at U.S. jails have falsely claimed to have the potentially deadly disease, authorities say. That sparked a full-bore response not only at the jails but in a…

Oct 22, 2014 9:50 AM CDT

Las Vegas DA to seek county OK for reality TV show about cold and closed cases

A new reality television show about the work of the Las Vegas coroner could soon be followed by one about its district attorney. Apparently inspired by Postmortem in Vegas, DA Steve Wolfson will be seeking permission from Clark County commissioners next month to create a similar show about cold and…

Oct 21, 2014 10:40 AM CDT

Lawyer is federally indicted in heroin case, had $90K seized at airport

A California lawyer has been federally indicted in a heroin trafficking case in Las Vegas and lost $90,000 in cash when authorities seized the money from him at an Ohio airport earlier this year. Glen Hunsberger, 46, and two co-defendants were charged Tuesday by a grand jury with conspiracy to…

Oct 9, 2014 9:00 AM CDT

9th Circuit strikes down same-sex marriage bans; SCOTUS rejects Idaho’s stay request

Updated: The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled late Tuesday that same-sex marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada are unconstitutional. The Washington Post, the Associated Press and CNN have stories. The court found that the bans violate the rights of same-sex couples to equal protection under the…

Oct 7, 2014 5:24 PM CDT

Ex-judge likely headed to prison is expected to get pension of up to $150K annually

A Nevada judge agreed to give up his seat on the bench and his law license last week when he took a plea in a federal wire fraud conspiracy case. But Steven Jones will retain his pension, because there is no provision under Nevada state law for forfeiture, writes a…

Sep 25, 2014 1:25 PM CDT

Did ‘freaky fast’ advertising claim spur Jimmy John’s accident settlement?

Advertisements about “freaky fast” delivery of Jimmy John’s sandwiches clearly didn’t help and may have hurt the restaurant chain during a trial of a Las Vegas lawsuit over a collision with a delivery driver. Motorcyclist Ty Cirillo sued a Las Vegas franchise and the Illinois-based corporation after he crashed into…

Sep 23, 2014 3:00 PM CDT

9th Circuit OKs one late habeas filing, nixes another, says both inmates abandoned by same lawyer

Updated: For the second time in one week, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a ruling in an inmate’s case seeking to have an untimely habeas petition heard. Both times, the inmate blamed the delayed filing on an appellate lawyer who they say didn’t do…

Sep 17, 2014 5:20 PM CDT

Judge plans to take plea in case over $3M investment-fraud scheme, his lawyer says

Suspended from the bench with pay in 2012 after he and five other defendants were federally indicted in a claimed $3 million investment fraud scheme, a Nevada family court judge is now on the verge of taking a plea. The docket shows Judge Steven Jones, 56, is scheduled to plead…

Sep 15, 2014 3:30 PM CDT

After stalemate between rancher, armed militia and feds, Nevada prosecutor not rushing to bring case

Corrected: Faced with potential violence in a standoff earlier this year between authorities and a Nevada rancher and armed militia supporters over cattle grazing on federal land, law enforcement officers backed off on a plan to round up trespassing cattle. But in the aftermath of the April incident questions remain…

Sep 2, 2014 5:30 PM CDT

Former US Attorney takes plea in tax-return case, agrees to pay $290K

Once the top federal prosecutor in his state, a Nevada lawyer who made a name for himself pursuing white-collar crime is now awaiting sentencing in a federal misdemeanor case over his failure to file tax returns. Prosecutors said Lawrence “Larry” Semenza II failed to file individual or corporate returns between…

Aug 28, 2014 9:25 PM CDT

Gun instructor killed after girl loses control of Uzi; shooting range operated legally, sheriff says

Updated and corrected: An Arizona sheriff has no plans to file charges against a shooting range where a 9-year-old girl lost control of an Uzi, accidentally killing her instructor. Mohave County Sheriff Jim McCabe says the Bullets and Burgers shooting range, located 26 miles from Las Vegas, is licensed and…

Aug 27, 2014 12:05 PM CDT

Nevada chief justice who served as jury foreman wouldn’t have put himself on the jury

Nevada Chief Justice Mark Gibbons says serving as jury foreman last week in a Carson City prosecution was a great experience, though he wouldn’t have put anyone with legal training on the jury if he had been a lawyer in the case. Gibbons and other jurors convicted David Paul Lane…

Aug 18, 2014 10:45 AM CDT

Nevada chief justice is chosen as juror in criminal case

Nevada Chief Justice Mark Gibbons will be serving the legal system in another capacity this week. Gibbons was chosen as a juror on Monday in the criminal trial of a man accused of waving a gun at employees of the Olive Garden in Carson City, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.…

Aug 13, 2014 1:16 PM CDT