City of Sparks v. Bluth (Amicus)

In 2023, a Reno police officer pulled over a driver and took her cell phone, claiming he needed to verify her insurance coverage. Instead, he unlawfully accessed and copied intimate photographs of the driver without her knowledge or consent. Nine months later, Sparks police detectives came to her home, showed her the photos, and confirmed they were taken from her phone.

The driver, Bluth, sued to get access to public records about the investigation, but the lower court found that the investigative and privacy interests outweigh the public and personal interests, even without reviewing the records privately. The court only provided records related to her individual case.

We filed an amicus brief, alongside the Boyd School of Law’s Survivor Representation & Advocacy Clinic, supporting Bluth’s appeal. We’re asking the Nevada Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s decision and make clear that the government can’t use victims’ rights as an excuse to avoid accountability.

The ACLU of Nevada does not represent the parties in this case, and our involvement is limited to filing an amicus curiae brief, also known as a “friend of the court” brief, which allows us to share legal arguments, policy expertise, and broader civil liberties perspectives that may assist the court in making its decision. We file these briefs in cases that may have significant implications for constitutional rights and civil liberties, even when we are not directly representing the client or parties named in the lawsuit.