Judges sue Nye County commissioners who forced them to relocate over gun control policy

Nye County and the Fifth Judicial District Court have been at loggerheads over whether weapons should be permitted inside county buildings that house courtrooms. Now, judges have filed a lawsuit against the Nye County commissioners who forced them into new chambers in order to preserve Second Amendment rights.

Filed Tuesday, June 7 as case No. 84825, the emergency petition asks the Nevada Supreme Court to issue an order to Nye County directing it to keep the Fifth Judicial District Court’s operations in their current locations. The lawsuit requests that immediate action be taken by Monday, June 20.

“[T]his case is about the Nye County commissioners’ desire to carry firearms in the county courthouses,” the document reads. “The district judges of the Fifth Judicial District Court sought to enforce a prohibition against carrying firearms in the courthouses. Because there are no metal detectors outside the courthouses, the district judges posted exterior signage informing the public and others that weapons are prohibited.”

The document goes on to detail that the county then adopted a resolution to define the boundaries of the “courthouse,” limiting that term to courtrooms only.

“When the district judges reasonably extended the prohibition to areas surrounding and adjacent to the courtrooms, the county commissioners voted to remove the signage,” the lawsuit continues. “When that failed to deter the district judges from enforcing the prohibition, the commissioners voted to evict the judges from the county’s existing courthouses in Pahrump and Tonopah, leaving them with no suitable place to conduct judicial proceedings.”

Commissioners unanimously voted on May 17 to relocate the Fifth Judicial District Court from the Ian Deutch Government Complex in Pahrump to a building at 250 N. Highway 160, which is currently occupied by Nye County Planning, Public Works and Building and Safety. This building was at one time the facility that served as a justice complex for the Pahrump community. It must be vacated by the county departments and upgraded before the district courts could be moved into it.

As for the Fifth Judicial District Court’s operations in Tonopah, commissioners voted to move the district courts out of the William P. Beko Justice Complex and into what was once a fitness center on Globe Mallow Lane. That move was supposed to be effective immediately. However, signage posted on the courtroom doors in Tonopah on June 7 stated that as of that date, the county had failed to provide keys to the district court’s new location and therefore, all hearings were canceled.

That same day, the Fifth Judicial District Court’s suit was filed with the Nevada Supreme Court.

“The county commissioners of Nye County wish to carry firearms in Nye County’s courthouses. Despite the provisions of NRS 202.3673(3)(b), the commissioners assert that members of the public have a right to carry firearms in the courthouses,” the document states. “For obvious reasons, the commissioners have been unable to convince the district judges of the Fifth Judicial District Court to allow all county employees and members of the public to carry firearms in the courthouses. For these reasons, and these reasons alone, the commissioners voted to evict the district judges from the courthouses…”

The document goes on to assert that the building selected for the new district court locations are not suitable for the purpose and remarks upon the fact that there was no financial impact analysis conducted to calculate the cost such a move would have. The judges claim that the action taken by the commissioners is purely retaliatory in nature and a violation of the law that states the county must provide adequate facilities for the district court.

“Accordingly, the court should issue a writ of mandamus directing the respondents (Nye County) to preserve the status quo as it existed prior to the commissioners’ vote on May 17, 2022,” the lawsuit concludes.

The 26-page lawsuit can be reviewed in full by visiting www.NVCourts.gov and searching the Nevada Appellate Courts for case no. 84825.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com