In this section, our attorneys explain Nevada’s criminal laws and legal concepts, A to Z
Criminal Law A to Z
In this section, our attorneys explain Nevada’s criminal laws and legal concepts, A to Z
Crimes by NRS Section
Every crime in Nevada is based in a section of the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS). For each crime, our attorneys explain the laws, penalties and best defenses to fight the charge.
Nevada DUI
Getting arrested for DUI does not mean you will be convicted. Police misconduct, defective breathalyzers and crime lab mistakes may be enough to get your charges lessened or dismissed. Visit our page on Nevada DUI Laws to learn more.
Post-Conviction
Even if you’ve already been convicted of a crime, there is still much you can do to seal your record and restore your rights. Our attorneys explain how.
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If a person in Nevada appears at high risk of self-harm or harming others, the state’s red flag law allows police or certain family members to ask the court for a protection order preventing the high-risk person from having guns.
Emergency high-risk orders last for seven days, but they can be extended for one year at a time. If the high-risk person ever violates the order by possessing a gun, they can be charged with a misdemeanor carrying
A high-risk person’s “family or household members” may petition a Nevada court for a high-risk protection order. The family or household member just needs to reasonably believe that the high-risk person (“adverse party”) poses an imminent risk of causing
by having or buying a gun.
“Family or household members” include the high-risk person’s:
In addition, police officers can also apply for a high-risk protection order if they have probable cause to believe that the high-risk person poses an imminent risk of causing
by having or buying a gun.
Note that it is a misdemeanor crime to apply for a high-risk protection order if the applicant knew it was false or did it just to harass the “adverse party.” Misdemeanors carry
Nevada courts can order you to not possess guns for displaying any of the following high-risk behaviors:
Family or household members of the “adverse party” should fill out the following form – High-Risk Protection Order Application for and Declaration in Support – and file it with their local local Nevada court.
There is no cost to file this application. Plus there is no requirement to notify the “adverse party.”
Within one judicial day of filing the application, the court will hold a hearing. The court will then issue an emergency order prohibiting the “adverse party” from having guns if it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that:
Emergency orders last for seven days. As soon as the police serve the “adverse party” with the order, the person has to surrender their firearms to the police and not obtain any new ones while the order is in effect.
Police will store the guns of an “adverse party” while the protection order remains in effect.
Before the emergency order expires, the court will hold a second hearing. The “adverse party” must be served notice of this second hearing and an opportunity to be heard.
At the second hearing, the court will issue an extended order prohibiting the “adverse party” from having guns if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that:
Extended orders can last for up to one year. Before the extended order ends, the adverse person’s family or household members can petition the court to extend the order for up to another year.3
It is a Nevada misdemeanor for an “adverse party” in a high-risk protection order to possess or buy firearms. Penalties include
Yes. The family or household member who originally applied for the high-risk protection order can ask the Nevada court to dissolve the order. Or the “adverse party” can ask the court to dissolve the order.
Either way, the court will dissolve a high-risk protection order if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the “adverse party” no longer poses a risk of causing
by having or buying guns.
Note that if both the adverse party and the person who originally applied for the order stipulate to dissolve the order, the court will dissolve the order upon a finding of good cause.5
When a high-risk protection order expires or is dissolved in Nevada, the police department has 14 days to return all the surrendered guns back to the “adverse party.”6
Learn more about Nevada gun laws.
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.