In the
Nevada state court system, the Nevada District Courts are the
trial court
A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...
s of
general jurisdiction
{{Globalize, article, USA, 2name=the United States, date=December 2010
A court of general jurisdiction is a court with authority to hear cases of all kinds – criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth.
United States
All federal courts ar ...
, where criminal, civil, family, and juvenile matters are generally resolved through arbitration, mediation, and bench or jury trials.
The District Courts also hear
appeals from the
limited jurisdiction state courts, which are composed of 17 Municipal Courts (which handle involving
traffic ticket
A traffic ticket is a notice issued by a law enforcement official to a motorist or other road user, indicating that the user has violated traffic laws. Traffic tickets generally come in two forms, citing a moving violation, such as exceeding ...
and
misdemeanor violations of
ordinances occurring within the
city limits of
incorporated municipalities) and 45 Justice Courts (which handle misdemeanor crime and traffic matters,
small claims
Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may ...
,
eviction
Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortgag ...
s, and other civil matters in which the
amount in controversy
Amount in controversy (sometimes called jurisdictional amount) is a term used in civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular cour ...
is less than $10,000, as well as
felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
and
gross misdemeanor
In United States law, a gross misdemeanor is a crime which is more serious than a regular misdemeanor, but is still classified as a minor crime, as opposed to serious crimes. Such crimes may include petty theft, simple assault or driving under ...
arraignments and
preliminary hearings to determine if sufficient evidence exists for a trial in the District Court).
Appeals from the Nevada District Courts are taken directly by the
Supreme Court of Nevada
The Supreme Court of Nevada is the highest state court of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the head of the Nevada Judiciary. The main constitutional function of the Supreme Court is to review appeals made directly from the decisions of the distric ...
. Following a deflective model of appeals, the Supreme Court of Nevada has discretion to assign cases to the three-member Court of Appeals.
It is expected that most cases will be finally resolved by the Court of Appeals, from which further appeal will be heard by the Supreme Court of Nevada only in extraordinary cases.
There are 82 judges sitting in 11 district courts, each covering one or more of
Nevada's 16 counties and one independent city:
Nev. Rev. Stat. 3.011 et seq.
/ref>
*First Judicial District – Carson City
Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...
(independent city
An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province).
Historical precursors
In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
) and Storey County. 2 judges.
*Second Judicial District – Washoe County. 15 judges (6 family court, 9 civil/criminal court).
*Third Judicial District – Lyon County. 2 judges.
*Fourth Judicial District – Elko County. 3 judges.
*Fifth Judicial District – Esmeralda County and Nye County
Nye County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,591. Its county seat is Tonopah. At , Nye is Nevada's largest county by area and the third-largest county in the contiguous United States, behi ...
. 2 judges.
*Sixth Judicial District – Humboldt County. 1 judge.
*Seventh Judicial District – Eureka County
Eureka County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 1,855, making it the second-least populous county in Nevada. Its county seat is Eureka, Nevada, E ...
, Lincoln County, and White Pine County. 2 judges.
*Eighth Judicial District – Clark County (serves the Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ...
and is the largest of the judicial districts). 52 judges (20 family court, 32 civil/criminal court).
*Ninth Judicial District – Douglas County. 2 judges.
*Tenth Judicial District – Churchill County. 1 judge.
*Eleventh Judicial District - Pershing County
Pershing County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,650. Its county seat is Lovelock. The county was named after army general John J. Pershing (1860–1948). It was formed from Humboldt County ...
, Lander County, and Mineral County. 1 judge.
References
{{reflist
Nevada state courts
Courts and tribunals with year of establishment missing