Chris in front of a white background.

Christopher Peterson

Pronouns: he/him/his

Legal Director

Legal

Bio

Now the Legal Director for the ACLU of Nevada, Christopher Peterson began his legal career with the Clark County Public Defender’s Office. Focusing on criminal defense, Chris litigated a wide range of constitutional issues including illegal searches and seizures, due process violations, and challenges to the constitutionality of laws related to marijuana and firearm possession. He also had the privilege of representing indigent individuals in jury trials before Eighth Judicial District of Nevada. 

Outside his work as a litigator and trial attorney, Chris was a founding member of the National Lawyers Guild Las Vegas Chapter (NLG-LV). Through his work with NLG-LV, he helped organize that chapter’s Legal Observer program to ensure police accountability during the protests following the killing of George Floyd in 2020 and continues to provide support to organizers in the Las Vegas community.

Chris is an alumnus of the University of Virginia, Georgetown University Law Center, and the AmeriCorps program City Year.

Featured Work

News & Commentary
An image of a legal brief stamped "filed"

Nevada Needs SCOTUS to Review Qualified Immunity

A federal case out of Las Vegas illustrates the failures of the qualified immunity doctrine. Nevada needs the Supreme Court to grant the petition for review in Cates v. Stroud.

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Building a bigger, better legal department

I’ve made it no secret since I started as executive director earlier this year that I think our organization needs a more aggressive legal department to help advance civil liberties in our state. Nevada has been through so much in the last year alone, including serious inequities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing issues related to racial injustice.