The date printed at the bottom of a Stateline citation is a court order. If the citation says court is mandatory, the Tahoe Justice Court expects you on that date, and a missed misdemeanor date ends in an arrest warrant. Criminal cases from Stateline, the casinos, Kingsbury Grade, and the rest of the Douglas County side of Tahoe start in this court, a 10-minute walk from my office. A misdemeanor such as a first DUI or a domestic battery is decided here. A felony starts here and, if the State shows probable cause, moves to the district court in Minden.
I’m Theodore FitzGerald. My office is a 10-minute walk from this courthouse, and I work from one rule: the government has to follow the law at every step, including inside this building.
Which cases go to the Tahoe Justice Court?
Douglas County has two justice courts: this one for the lake, and the East Fork Justice Court for the Carson Valley. The Tahoe Justice Court describes its territory as the area around the lake from rural Carson City on Highway 28 to the Stateline casinos and Daggett Summit at the top of Kingsbury Grade. An arrest at a Stateline casino, on Highway 50, or on Kingsbury Grade below the summit is a Tahoe Justice Court case.
Two nearby arrests are not. Incline Village and Crystal Bay are in Washoe County and have their own court, the Incline Village–Crystal Bay Justice Court. South Lake Tahoe is in California, and a case there goes to the El Dorado County Superior Court.
What the court decides, and what it sends to Minden
Nevada’s justice courts have jurisdiction over misdemeanors and, apart from narrow statutory exceptions, no other crimes. A misdemeanor carries up to 6 months in county jail and a $1,000 fine unless the statute for the offense sets a different penalty. A first or second DUI within seven years is a misdemeanor. So is a first or second domestic battery within seven years, unless it involved strangulation or substantial bodily harm. Those cases are arraigned, litigated, tried, and sentenced in this court. See DUI Defense in Stateline and Douglas County and Domestic Battery in Douglas County, Nevada.
The court cannot try a gross misdemeanor or a felony, and it does not take a plea on one. Instead the judge holds a preliminary hearing, within 15 days unless the defendant waives it or the judge extends the time for good cause. It is the first time the State has to put witnesses on the stand and the defense can cross-examine them, so in a felony DUI or drug case it is where the stop, the search, and the handling of the evidence are first tested under oath. If the evidence shows probable cause that the offense was committed and that the defendant committed it, the judge sends the case to the Ninth Judicial District Court. If not, the judge discharges the defendant. Waiving the hearing sends the case up immediately and gives up that first cross-examination, so a waiver should buy something in return.
What happens at the first court date?
The court calls the first date on a misdemeanor an arraignment and the first date on a felony or gross misdemeanor a first appearance. At either one, the judge advises you of your constitutional rights, explains the charges, gives you a copy of the complaint, and sets the next date. On a misdemeanor, you also enter a plea.
The choices are guilty, no contest, or not guilty. The court’s own plea page says, “There is no penalty for pleading not guilty,” and a not-guilty plea is the ordinary first step while the reports, video, and test results are gathered and reviewed. The court says the next date after a not-guilty plea is typically a status hearing within about four weeks. Before a misdemeanor plea, Nevada law also has the court consider whether the case qualifies for preprosecution diversion. Misdemeanor DUI and domestic battery charges do not.
Anyone arrested and held is owed a pretrial release hearing within 48 hours, in open court or by video. Bail and the jail are covered on Bail, Custody, and Getting Out of the Douglas County Jail.
What if I can’t make the date on my citation?
The court states that the appearance date “is on the bottom of the citation” and that you “MUST appear in court on that date, if the citation states court is mandatory.” A criminal date can be moved only by a written agreement with the District Attorney’s Office or by a timely written motion that the court grants.
Some citations do not require an appearance. For those, the court lets you sign the back of the citation admitting the offense and mail it in with the fine. Admitting the offense is a conviction. For a charge that can count against you later, such as a DUI, driving on a suspended license, or a domestic battery, that is not a decision to make by mail. What a Nevada DUI does to a California license is on How a Nevada DUI Follows You Home to California.
Distance does not make a missed date go away. When a defendant misses a misdemeanor date without an excuse, Nevada law requires the court to order an arrest warrant within 14 judicial days. Failing to appear is also its own crime unless the person surrenders within 30 days: a misdemeanor when the underlying case is a misdemeanor, and a category D felony if the person left Nevada to avoid prosecution. The court warns that paying online does not prevent an arrest on an active warrant. If you have already missed a date, call a lawyer or the court the same day.
Can I appear by Zoom?
The court’s starting point is that “in most cases, you must appear in court personally, and not electronically or by telephone.” It also says it “offers video conferencing for parties who do not live locally,” and anyone who wants to appear by Zoom has to file a written request. The court’s request form puts the connection on you: you have to be on the call at the hearing time, and not connecting counts as a failure to appear. Documents for the hearing have to reach the court and the other side at least two court days ahead.
When a remote appearance is approved, treat it like a courtroom. Use a quiet room, a working camera and microphone, and dress as you would for court. In my experience judges notice, and a clean remote appearance makes the next request easier to grant.
Working with FitzGerald Law at Tahoe Justice Court
When I’m retained on a case here, my office files the written Zoom request where a remote appearance makes sense and sets up the appearance with you, so you know how to connect before the hearing. Continuances are handled with the District Attorney’s Office in writing, so a date is never missed by accident, and you are told in advance which dates the court will want you in the courtroom.
Most of the work in a misdemeanor case happens between court dates: getting the reports, the body-camera and dash-camera video, and the breath or blood records, sending preservation letters to any casino, hotel, or bar whose cameras may have recorded what happened, and taking problems with the State’s proof to the prosecutor. That starts before the first substantive date.
If a case ends in a conviction, two things are planned ahead. Sentencing terms are arranged around where you live where Nevada law allows it. And an appeal to the district court has to be filed within 10 days of the judgment and is decided on the record made in this court, so if an appeal is possible, the record is built with it in mind and the appeal is planned before the sentencing date.
Address and contact
Tahoe Justice Court 175 Highway 50, Stateline, NV 89449 Phone: (775) 586-7200 · Fax: (775) 586-7203 Filing office: Monday to Friday, closed noon to 1:00 p.m. and on observed holidays Court website: tahoejusticecourt.com (forms, including the Request to Appear Remotely and the court’s remote-hearing etiquette sheet)
The date on your paperwork is already set. Hire me now, and I’ll get to work on everything that comes before it. Call FitzGerald Law.