Nevada Court Case Lookup

A court case in Nevada refers to a legal proceeding carried out by the state’s judicial branch to settle a dispute between two or more individuals or organizations. Court cases are typically presided over by judges or juries, depending on the nature of the case. Filing a court case is often necessary when parties cannot settle their differences without legal intervention, hence needing the court’s involvement in obtaining justice.

The state's judicial system comprises trial courts and appellate courts, each with specified functions and jurisdiction:

Municipal Courts: These courts exclusively deal with minor civil cases like traffic infractions and misdemeanors committed inside incorporated municipality limits. There are 17 Municipal Courts in Nevada.
Justice Courts: These courts deal with misdemeanor offenses as well as small claims cases, summary evictions, temporary protection orders, and other civil cases involving sums under $15,000.00. There are 40 Justice Courts in the state.
District Courts: Here, judge or jury trials, arbitration, mediation, and other dispute resolution procedures are typically used to resolve criminal, civil, juvenile, and family disputes. Judges in District Courts have broad authority and hear appeals from both Justice and Municipal courts. Eleven judicial districts serve the state's 17 counties.
Court of Appeals: In a deflective approach, this court adjudicates roughly one-third of the matters brought before the Supreme Court. The three-judge committee court is given these matters by the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court: This is the state's highest court, and its main responsibility is to hear appeals from District Courts. The Supreme Court just decides whether cases that were handled at the lower courts were appropriately resolved rather than conducting trials to gather evidence and render a judgment in a case.

Are Court Cases Public Records in Nevada?

Yes, court cases in Nevada are public records according to the Nevada Public Records Act (NRS 239.010).This law lets the public view and obtain copies of case files such as filings and final rulings. However, there might be aspects of case files containing sensitive information, that are not allowed for public disclosure such as names of witnesses disclosed in confidence, and other details as captured within the state statute.

How to Conduct a Nevada Court Case Lookup

In Nevada, members of the public can look up court cases in three ways. The first is to conduct an online search. However, this service is not available for every court. For example, the Nevada Supreme Court provides a search tool on its website called “Find a Case” and users can perform a search using the case number and an optional caption from the case file.

The second alternative is for those who wish to request access to do so in person by going to the court where the case file is stored and submitting a request to the Clerk's Office. The methods for acquiring these data may differ depending on the particular court, but records would be made available without charge aside from any required processing fees for copies. Use the Nevada courts directory to find court contact information, including addresses and phone numbers.

The third option is to write an email or send a mail to the court that is in the custody of the desired records. This mail should contain the relevant information that would aid the retrieval of the requested record.

Can I Get Nevada Court Case Documents Online?

Yes, court case documents can be obtained online. According to the Nevada Public Records Act, it is legal to get court papers online if they were prepared and accessible in electronic form. Users may choose to access, download, or examine case files made available by the appellate court through the web-based search tool known as C-Track (a browser-based case management system), for instance.

However, not all Nevada courts have an online repository for court case files, thus in those instances, requesters would need to physically visit the court in order to obtain those documents.

How to Conduct a Nevada Court Search by Name

Persons who wish to coduct a name-based court case search must know the full name of at least one of the parties involved in the case. They may then use the court’s online search tool to conduct the name search or submit the name at the Clerk’s Office.

What is a Court Case Number?

The Court Clerk at a particular court gives an individual identification code known as a court case number to case files. The Court Clerk first assigns a case number when a new case is filed for trial. The Clerk then needs to know the county, court type, court number, case type, year and month of filing, and filing order. Every court case must be identified with a case number in order to facilitate file dissemination and retrieval. The format of a case number can vary depending on the court, although it typically consists of alphabets, numbers, and special characters (like an asterisk). The majority of courts use an electronic filing system that is programmed to automatically issue case numbers to files. Case numbers make it simple for the public to access case files.

How to Conduct a Court Case Number Search in Nevada

In Nevada, one can perform a case number search by first going to the court Clerk's Office of the appropriate court and seeking access to this data. However, the asking party must supply the case number details and/or case party name, which are necessary to get the file.

A second alternative is that most courts provide remote electronic access to case files using a case number search. For instance, the Nevada Supreme Court provides a search tool known as C-track (a Case Management System) that enables users to perform a case number search.

Keep in mind that the online case management system used by each court has a different name. Other instances include "Court View," a search engine that Clark County uses to provide internet remote access to Justice Courts in places like Boulder, Bunkerville, Goodsprings, and others. Another online search engine utilized by the Sparks Justice Court in Washoe County is called "Case Search," and another one called "Find Your Case" is used, among others, by the Municipal Court of the City of Reno. Access to the online case repository is provided to the public via guest login or registered users and is restricted to cases that are available based on the year or confidentiality of records.

Those unable to use the aforementioned options can conduct a case number search by contacting the appropriate court via email or mail and providing the necessary information to start the search. It should be noted that processing fees may apply and that these would vary depending on the different courthouses.

How to Remove Court Cases From Public Records in Nevada

According to the Nevada Rules for Sealing and Redacting Court Records (SRCR), any person can request that the court seal or redact court records if their case qualifies. The petition, however, would only be granted if the petitioner shows that the public's interest in privacy and safety concerns outweighs the public's interest in access to public records. Courts also consider if:

Federal or state law permits or mandates the sealing or redaction.
Another identified compelling condition that justifies or necessitates the sealing or redaction has been identified.
The need to safeguard intellectual property rights or property interests, such as trade secrets as defined in NRS 600A.030 (5).
The record contains medical, mental health, and tax information. These records may be sealed or redacted.
The record contains confidential terms of a settlement agreement between the parties. These records may be sealed or redacted.
The redaction only applies to restricted personal information included in court records.
In order to safeguard public health and safety, the sealing or redaction furthers a court order that was made in compliance with federal or state law.

Furthermore, if certain requirements are completed and the court is convinced that the subject has been rehabilitated, the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS 179.2405 – NRS 179.301) allow courts to order the sealing of criminal records.

When a record is physically removed from a record system and its dissemination is significantly or completely restricted, the process is referred to as "sealing". This action restricts access to criminal record information to only repository staff for record management needs, parties or agencies conducting permitted searches in accordance with state statutes, or parties with judicial authorization. Sealing a court record would only be allowed if the grounds for confidentiality outweighed the impacts of disclosure to the public because court proceedings are public records and thus open to the public.

Per NRS 179.25, a person may request the sealing of all records pertaining to a conviction for a category ”A” felony, a violent crime, or a residential burglary under NRS 205.060 after ten years from the date of release from actual custody or discharge from parole or probation, whichever comes first. In addition, two years after being released from actual detention, released from parole, or released from probation, whichever comes first, a person may ask for the sealing of records relating to a category "E" felony and any gross misdemeanor.

How to Check a Court Case Status in Nevada

Using the internet search tools offered by the presiding court, case parties and the public could learn the status of a Nevada court case. In order to do this, the requester must go to the relevant court's website and do a search. They can do this by entering the case number or names of the persons involved. If a court does not allow remote access to court case information, the requestor must visit the courthouse to get the necessary information.

How to Find Supreme Court Decisions in Nevada

In Nevada, rulings of the Supreme Court are open to public access on the Supreme Court website under the Advance Opinions section. Alternatively, use the Case Search engine offered on the state website to find Supreme Court decision.

What Percentage of Court Cases Go to Trial in Nevada?

A small percentage. For example, according to the Nevada Judiciary courts statistics report, less than 1% to 2% of cases involving gross misdemeanors would go to trial for both bench and jury hearings between the years 2000 and 2022.

Similarly, a total of 13,472 dispositions were recorded under felony charges according to the Nevada Annual Report for the fiscal year 2022, but only eight of these cases reached a bench trial and 120 reached a jury trial. For both judge and jury trials, this calculates to a rate of less than 1%.

How Long Does a Court Case Last in Nevada?

The Nevada statutes do not specify a time limit for each case; this is impossible given the variety of court proceedings and the possibility that some may take longer than others to be resolved. Due to the complexity of the case, a criminal offense like a felony may take a long time to resolve, although a less serious offense like a traffic violation may just require a few days. A court case may be postponed following arraignment if the defendant needs more time to prepare or if there are other cases to hear first.

How to File a Case in Court in Nevada

Filing means submitting a formal complaint in a court of law together with the required paperwork for doing so. The first step in filing a court case in Nevada is choosing the right court to handle it. The petitioner must choose the Municipal, Justice or District court within their jurisdiction. The next step is to contact the Clerk's Office to find out the proper court forms that should be filed, fill them out, and submit with the necessary filing fees. Alternatively, hire an attorney to handle the case filing and court procedure.

What Does It Mean if a Court Case Was Resolved Before the Trial Date?

A court case can be resolved before trial and this means that the law court and parties involved in a case found an alternative to resolve the case without litigation. Here are a few ways that a case can be resolved without trial:

Dismissal: Before trial or during the early stages of a lawsuit, the defendant has the right to file a request to dismiss the case. This typically occurs due to legal flaws like a lack of personal or subject matter jurisdiction, unsuitable venue, insufficient process, or failure to establish a claim upon which relief may be given.
Summary Judgement: In some situations, the essential facts are beyond question, necessitating the entry of judgment in favor of one of the parties, summarily terminating the matter before trial.
Default Judgment: If a defendant does not answer a complaint or charge that has been brought against them, they are said to be in default. The court starts a process known as "entry of default," declaring that the defendant is liable to the plaintiff since they did not show up and lost the right to refute the claims. If the defendant eventually appears, the court may reconsider and set aside or vacate the entry of default from the file if they have compelling reasons for their absence.
Mediation: This is an efficient approach to settle a dispute without going to trial. The goal of using a mediator - someone with conflict resolution training - is to reduce the difficulties that frequently emerges when opposing parties try to negotiate on their own and reach middle ground without going to trial.
Plea Agreement: A defendant might enter a plea of guilty to the accusations made against them and ask for leniency in the anticipated punishment and the dismissal of other accusations. This generally occurs when the facts are clear and the defendant is aware that a trial would have less favorable results.