State and Local Government Law Commons^™

The Fate Of State Investor Protection, Benjamin P. Edwards

Scholarly Works

In June 2019, the Securities & Exchange Commission made significant changes to the regulation of investment advice, issuing regulations and new interpretations of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Industry advocates have argued that states lack power to enact their own regulations on the theory that various federal statutes and regulations combine to preempt and sharply limit state authority. This article examines the current state of reforms around the country and the policy and legal arguments for and against limiting state efforts to raise the standards for investment advice.

Branch Banking & Tr. Co. V. Gerrard, Esq., 134 Nev. Adv. Op. 106 (Dec. 27, 2018), Katrina Brandhagen

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

No abstract provided.

Flores V. Las Vegas-Clark Cty. Library Dist., 134 Nev. Adv. Op. 101 (Dec. 13, 2018) (En Banc), Paige Hall

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) NRS §§ 244.364, 268.418, and 269.222, as amended by Senate Bill 175 (“SB 175”), unambiguously preempt firearm ordinances and regulations adopted by counties, cities, and towns only and (2) a library district created in accordance with NRS Chapter 379 is not a “county,” “city,” or “town” for the purposes of SB 175.

Nuleaf Clv Dispensary, Llc V. State, Dep’T Of Health And Human Serv’S, 134 Nev. Adv. Op. 17 (Mar. 29, 2018), Margaret Higgins

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that under NRS Chapter 453: (1) a medical marijuana establishment applicant does not have to satisfy NRS 453A.322(3)(a)(5)’s requirements for the Department of Health and Human Services to issue the applicant a provisional registration certificate, and (2) the registration certificate shall be deemed provisional until the applicant receives proper approval to commence operations from the applicable local government to commence operation.

Solid V. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 17 (Apr. 27, 2017), Hunter Davidson

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court interpreted Nevada Supreme Court Rules (“SCR” or the “Rules”) on Electronic Coverage of Court Proceedings: (1) My Entertainment TV (MET) is a “news reporter” under SCR 229(1)(c) because it collects, edits, and publishes footage concerning local events for public dissemination; (2) Clark County court proceedings footage has the educational or informational purpose required by SCR 241; (3) camera presence in the court room alone does not overcome the presumption permitting electronic recording of court proceedings under SCR 230; and (4) contract provisions must be read together, and the result should comport with the SCR on electronic coverage of …

U.S. State Copyright Laws: Challenge And Potential, Marketa Trimble

Scholarly Works

With copyright law in the United States lying primarily in the realm of federal law, the laws of the U.S. states concerning copyright do not typically attract significant attention from scholars, practitioners, and policy makers. Some recent events have drawn attention to state copyright laws – for example, litigation against a satellite radio provider for infringement of state common-law public performance rights in pre-1972 sound recordings. However, in general, state copyright laws remain largely in the shadow of federal copyright law, and state law is typically not viewed as a particularly useful vehicle for pursuing the policies that copyright law …

Schwartz V. Lopez, 132 Nev. Adv. Op. 73 (Sep. 29, 2016), Scott Cardenas

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) Article 11, Section 1 of the Nevada Constitution does not limit the Legislature’s discretion in encouraging other methods of education, and based on this, the Education Savings Account (“ESA”) program is not contrary to Article 11, Section 2 which requires the Legislature to “provide for a uniform system of common schools”; and that (2) the funds deposited in the education savings account are not “public funds” subject to Article 11, Section 10; and finally that (3) the ESA program violates the mandate under Section 2 and 6 to fund public education because SB 302 does …

Nevada's Education Savings Accounts: A Constitutional Analysis, Thomas W. Stewart, Brittany Walker

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

This piece will analyze potential conflicts between Senate Bill 302 and Article XI of the Nevada Constitution to explore the constitutionality of educational savings accounts.

Corp. Bishop, Lds V. Seventh Jud. Dist. Ct., 132 Nev. Adv. Op. 6 (Jan. 28, 2016), Mackenzie Warren

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that a State Engineer did not improperly apply NRS § 533.3705(1) retroactively or constitute a retroactive application for two reasons: (1) the statute unambiguously applies to only approved applications; and (2) the applications at issue were approved almost five years after the statute took effect. Thus, the Court denied petitioner’s request for extraordinary writ attempting to bar the State Engineer from applying NRS § 533.3705(1) to the disputed water permit applications.

City Of Fernley V. State, Dep’T Of Tax, 132 Nev. Adv. Op. 4 (January 14, 2016), Daniel Ormsby

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that the Local Government Tax Distribution Account under NRS § 330.660 was general legislation, survived rational basis scrutiny, and therefore was not unconstitutional under Article 4, Sections 20 and 21 of the Nevada Constitution.

Summary Of Nutton V. Sunset Station, Inc., 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 34 (June 11, 2015), Joseph Meissner

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined the proper relationship between NRCP 15(a) and NRCP 16(b), and explored whether a proposed amendment under NRCP 15(a) can be deemed “futile” because it is unsupported by, or contradicts, factual evidence produced during discovery.

Summary Of Ndoc V York Claims Serv., Inc., 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 25 (May 07, 2015), Janine Lee

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

NRS 616B.028(1) entitles “[a]ny offender confined at the state prison, while engaged in work in a prison industry or work program” to coverage under the modified program of industrial insurance adopted by the Nevada Division of Insurance. The term “work program” in NRS 616B.028(1) does not apply to individuals who are participating in a work release program.

Registering To Vote In Clark County, Rachel J. Anderson

Media & Informal Publications

In this publication, distributed by the Las Vegas chapter of the National Bar Association, Professor Rachel J. Anderson provides clear direction and information for Nevada voters on the process of registering to vote and information on special circumstances surrounding registration.

Preserving The Past In The Present For The Future: Las Vegas Chapter Of The National Bar Association Archive At The Wiener-Rogers Law Library, Jeanne Price, Rachel J. Anderson

Scholarly Works

This co-authored article documents the establishment of the Las Vegas Chapter of the National Bar Association (LVNBA) Archive in 2011 at the Wiener-Rogers Law Library at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law, which may be the first of its kind in the nation. The LVNBA archive was established in cooperation with the LVNBA, the local affiliate of the National Bar Association, which is the nation’s oldest minority bar and largest national association of over 44,000 predominately African-American lawyers, judges, professors, and law students. Materials donated by the LVNBA and its members document the role …

Demographic Diversity Of State Courts, 2009, Sylvia R. Lazos

Boyd Briefs / Road Scholars

No abstract provided.

Note, A Woman’S Life, A Woman’S Health: Equalizing Medicaid Abortion Funding In Simat Corp. V. Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Sara Gordon

Scholarly Works

This casenote discusses the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision in Simat Corp. v. Arizona Health Care Cost Container System. In a decision deviating from those of the United States Supreme Court, the Arizona Supreme Court declared the Arizona statute and accompanying Arizona Heath Care Cost Containment System provisions unconstitutional because they did not survive strict scrutiny analysis under the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Arizona Constitution. Where the state of Arizona has undertaken to fund abortions for indigent women whose lives are directly threatened by pregnancy, it cannot refuse to pay for abortions for similarly indigent women whose health, …

Malignant Democracy: Core Fallacies Underlying Election Of The Judiciary, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

There is no requirement of democratic theory that mandates that all public offices be filled by election. This is particularly true in modern democratic states, which are simply too large to justify the administrative burden of electing everyone who has significant responsibilities in our society.

Examples of this are everywhere in modern democracies, such as the United States and Europe. In England, for example, the Prime Minister is not directly elected by the people. Does this mean Great Britain has ceased to be a democracy? In most large, sophisticated nation-states, national cabinet officers have great power but are the political …

Defining Marriage: What Ballot Question 2 Doesn’T Do, Mary Lafrance

Scholarly Works

This article examines he oddly-worded initiative, which constituted Question 2 on Nevada’s 2002 ballot and explains how it was a bit of a puzzle, even two years after it was first sprung upon the electorate. Touted during its previous appearance in the 2000 election as a “definition of marriage,” this article shows how it is all too clear that the initiative was anything but that. Neither the initiative, nor any existing provision of Nevada law, made the slightest attempt to define marriage.

Insuring Domestic Tranquility: Lopez, Federalization Of Crime, And The Forgotten Role Of The Domestic Violence Clause, Jay S. Bybee

Scholarly Works

Lost in the discussions of the federalization of crime is the one clause in the Constitution that actually links Congress, the states, and the problem of local crime: the Domestic Violence Clause.

Long ignored by courts, the Domestic Violence Clause recognizes the primacy of the states in addressing domestic violence within their borders. It imposes on the federal government a duty to protect states against domestic violence, but only when states request assistance. The Domestic Violence Clause plays the role of a Tenth Amendment for crime. It is a reaffirmation of the enumerated powers doctrine and a promise of federal …