Court Cases

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Court Case
Aug 15, 2025
Graphic with a maroon overlay featuring the statue of Lady Justice holding scales in the background. On the left is the white ACLU of Nevada logo. On the right, separated by a vertical white line, the text reads “ACLU of Nevada v. Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles” in a bold, serif font.
  • First Amendment|
  • +1 Issue

ACLU of Nevada v. Department of Motor Vehicles

We’re suing the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for violating Nevada’s public records laws by refusing to release records related to their communications with ICE.
Court Case
Dec 09, 2025
Graphic with a dark blue and red overlay showing a school bus parked on a suburban street. On the left is the white ACLU of Nevada logo. On the right, separated by a vertical white line, the text reads “ACLU of Nevada v. CCSD” in a bold, serif font.
  • First Amendment

ACLU of Nevada v. Clark County School District

In February, Durango High School students were attacked by CCSD police, and video of the incident was captured by a bystander. CCSD continues to stonewall the release of public records related to the incident. The ACLU of Nevada is representing two of the students attacked in the incident. The ACLU of Nevada filed for a writ of mandamus in a Clark County court in order to force the Clark County School District to release records that the civil rights nonprofit is entitled to. A writ of mandamus is a legal action meant to compel a government actor to follow the law. In February, Durango High School students were attacked by CCSD police for recording officers in the community. Video of the incident captured by a bystander has been shared widely throughout Nevada — including before the Legislature — but despite persistent requests from the news media and others, the school district continues to stonewall the release of public records related to the incident, such as body-worn camera footage and incident reports. Even the ACLU of Nevada, which is representing two teenagers who were attacked in the incident, has been denied the records. In March, the ACLUNV announced it was giving the school district 30 days to comply with the law or the nonprofit would file legal action. CCSD has failed to produce the records for the teenagers’ attorneys. UPDATE: On December 9, 2025, the Nevada Supreme Court held oral arguments. Decision is now pending.

All Cases

13 Court Cases
Court Case
Mar 04, 2026
Blue-toned graphic with the ACLU of Nevada logo and the text ‘City of Las Vegas v. Bellus.’ The background shows a judge’s gavel resting on a block with scales of justice behind it.
  • First Amendment|
  • +1 Issue

City of Las Vegas v. Bellus

We’re defending Alexander Bellus, a man who was cited by the City of Las Vegas for allegedly distributing food and water at a public park to people experiencing homelessness as part of his religious practice. 
Court Case
Feb 27, 2026
Graphic with a blue and red overlay featuring a pedestrian bridge over a Las Vegas street. On the left is the white ACLU of Nevada logo. On the right, the text reads “McAllister v. Clark County” in a bold, serif font.
  • First Amendment|
  • +1 Issue

McAllister v. Clark County

We're challenging Clark County's pedestrian flow zone ordinance for its vague language that allows LVMPD to selectively enforce and, in effect, selectively target people. Our client uses a manual wheelchair, and under this ordinance, could be charged with a misdemeanor for stopping to take a break. In January 2024, the Clark County Commission voted to establish pedestrian flow zones on the pedestrian bridges at the Las Vegas Strip and charge people with a misdemeanor for stopping or standing on these bridges.
Court Case
Nov 25, 2025
Graphic with a green overlay showing students raising graduation caps in celebration. On the left is the white ACLU of Nevada logo. On the right, separated by a vertical white line, the text reads “ACLU of Nevada v. CCSD” in a bold, serif font.
  • First Amendment|
  • +2 Issues

ACLU of Nevada v Clark County School District

As Southern Nevada high school seniors headed toward graduation, many of the students were at risk of having their First Amendment rights violated under a Clark County School District policy adopted in March that added new restrictions on cap and gown decorations and banned objects and adornments that “constitute proselytizing speech.” Our civil rights attorneys say that the policy has led to individual schools creating their own guidelines, which even contradict themselves. The complaint says, for example, that Canyon Springs High School and Del Sol Academy have communicated both that all cap decorations will be banned and that students can adorn their caps with decorations that have religious or cultural significance. Las Vegas High School is going even further and requiring students to submit pictures of decorations and accessories for advanced approval.
Court Case
Nov 21, 2025
Graphic with a dark blue and red overlay featuring a police car with flashing lights in a city at night. On the left, the white ACLU of Nevada logo appears. On the right, the text reads “ACLU of Nevada v. LVMPD” in a bold, serif font, divided by a vertical white line.
  • First Amendment|
  • +1 Issue

ACLU of Nevada v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

We are suing the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to get public records about the full extent of its involvement with federal immigration enforcement.
Court Case
Nov 10, 2025
Yellow and blue graphic with the ACLU of Nevada logo and the text ‘State of Nevada v. Polovina.’ The background shows a judge’s gavel and scales of justice.
  • First Amendment|
  • +1 Issue

State v. Polovina

Jordan Polovina is a cellist and street performer who was cited by police for playing music on a pedestrian bridge on the Las Vegas Strip. While officers claimed Polovina violated a rule against stopping or standing in a pedestrian area, dozens of other people were standing in the same space before, during, and after the citation and were not cited. Polovina was cited under a county ordinance that makes it a misdemeanor to (1) stop or stand within any Pedestrian Flow Zone, or (2) intentionally causing another person who is within a Pedestrian Flow Zone to stop or stand. A conviction can carry jail time for up to six months of a fine of up to $1,000. We’re asking the court to dismiss the charge against Polovina because he was singled out for playing music, an activity protected by the First Amendment. Law enforcement targeted him for his expression, rather than enforcing the rule equally. In addition to this case, the ACLU of Nevada represents Polovina in a related civil lawsuit challenging the same ordinance. The lawsuit, McAllister v. Clark County, argues that the ordinance violates First and Fourteenth Amendments and the right to due process.
Court Case
Sep 23, 2025
Blue-tinted graphic with the ACLU of Nevada logo and the text ‘City of Sparks v. Bluth.’ The background shows the Sparks city sign and railing along a public walkway.
  • First Amendment|
  • +1 Issue

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.
Court Case
Sep 15, 2025
Blue-tinted graphic with the ACLU of Nevada logo and the text ‘Gervaski v. State of Nevada.’ The background shows a large crowd gathered for a protest or demonstration in a city park.
  • First Amendment|
  • +1 Issue

Gerwaski v. State of Nevada

We are representing Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (SJP UNLV), a student group that protests Israel’s military actions in Palestine and exercises its First Amendment rights by organizing protests and advocating on social media, and has also urged UNLV administrators to stop supporting Palestinian people by not investing money in groups tied to Israel. We stepped in after another UNLV student who disagreed with SJP UNLV’s views sued the group, along with several other defendants, under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and for intentional infliction of emotional distress, even though the student did not show how UNLV SJP assisted in terrorism or explain how they were harmed. We filed a motion to dismiss, asking the court to dismiss the case because SJP UNLV’s advocacy is protected by the First Amendment, and the student failed to provide sufficient facts related to claims of infliction of emotional distress. We also filed a second motion under Nevada’s anti-SLAAP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) laws, which protects people and groups from lawsuits meant to silence speech on public issues.
Court Case
Dec 09, 2024
Graphic with a red and blue overlay showing a street sign for “Las Vegas Blvd 3700” and a traffic light in the foreground. On the left is the white ACLU of Nevada logo. On the right, separated by a vertical white line, the text reads “Ramsay v. State of Nevada” in a bold, serif font.
  • First Amendment

Ramsay v. State of Nevada (Amicus)

A Clark County court is banning people from the “Resort Corridor,” an expansive geographical area defined by Clark County ordinances, as a condition of probation without explanation or analysis for why this condition was imposed. The probation condition infringes upon the First Amendment right to access a traditional public forum and the right to intrastate travel, protected in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Probation conditions that restrict fundamental rights activities are only justified if they are directly tied to a permissible objective for probation, and the restriction is no greater than reasonably necessary to meet that objective. In imposing this probation condition, a Clark County court failed to satisfy both obligations. Another concern raised in the amicus brief is that the streets and roadways throughout the "Resort Corridor" are public sidewalks and roadways that have historically been used for public assembly and debate. UPDATE: On December 9, 2024, the Court dismissed the case for procedural reasons and said it’s moot—meaning there’s nothing left to resolve. The court found that our client lacked standing to challenge the law itself because he had never been arrested, charged, or convicted under that specific ordinance. And since he's already done with probation, there’s no longer an active issue for the court to decide.
Court Case
Oct 10, 2024
Graphic with a red and blue overlay featuring a close-up of a document showing the words “1st Amendment” and part of a U.S. flag in the background. A pen lies across the page. On the left is the white ACLU of Nevada logo. On the right, separated by a vertical white line, the text reads “New York Times v. 2nd Judicial District Court and Does” in a bold, serif font.
  • First Amendment

New York Times v. 2nd Judicial District Court and Does (Amicus)

In NYT v. Second Judicial District Court, multiple national media organizations, including The New York Times, CNN, NPR, and others, challenged a Nevada district court’s decision to seal nearly all hearings and filings in a high-profile case related to Rupert Murdoch’s trust. The district court’s ruling directly contradicts the Nevada Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment right to access civil proceedings found in Falconi v. Eighth Judicial District Court. The ACLU of Nevada, in partnership with Holland and Hart, filed an amicus brief urging the Nevada Supreme Court to reverse the lower court’s decision and affirm the public’s constitutional right to access court proceedings.