Nevada “Hate Crime” Laws

Updated

Playlist: Nevada "hate crimes"

Nevada hate crimes are when people harm others because of their race, color, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Felonies and gross misdemeanors committed as hate crimes carry an extra 1 to 20 years in prison. And misdemeanors committed as hate crimes get prosecuted as gross misdemeanors, carrying double maximum penalties.

In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss:

1. What are hate crimes in Nevada?

Hate crimes are offenses that people commit out of bias against the victim’s actual or perceived:

  • race,
  • color,
  • religion,
  • national origin,
  • physical or mental disability,
  • sexual orientation, and/or
  • gender identity or expression 1

A classic example of a hate crime is a bully beating up someone for being homosexual. Even if the victim was not actually gay, the beating is still considered a hate crime as long as the attacker believed the victim was gay and inflicted the harm because of anti-gay sentiment.

Under Nevada law, the following offenses carry harsher sentences when people commit them out of discrimination:

1.1. Felony and gross misdemeanor hate crimes under NRS 193.1675

1.2. Misdemeanor hate crimes under NRS 207.185

Queer woman of color cowering before prejudiced bully behind the camera

Nevada hate crimes are a sentencing enhancement, not an additional charge.

2. Are hate crimes separate charges from the underlying crime?

No. Hate crimes in Nevada are a sentencing enhancement, not a separate offense. People convicted of hate crimes will receive a harsher penalty than they would have otherwise. 2

Example: Harriet vandalizes her neighbor’s home in Henderson because her neighbor is transgender. Here, Harriet could be convicted of “injury of another’s property” for the vandalism. And then she would face an additional penalty because her motivation was based on the neighbor’s gender identity.

Had Harriet vandalized the neighbor’s house to get back at the neighbor for playing loud music, then there would be no hate crime enhancement because the motivation had nothing to do with prejudice. Harriet would instead face the regular punishment for “injury of another’s property.”

3. What is the punishment?

Nevada misdemeanors that are committed as hate crimes are instead charged as gross misdemeanors. Gross misdemeanor penalties – which are simply twice that of misdemeanor penalties – include:

  • up to 364 days in jail, and/or
  • up to $2,000 in fines 3

Meanwhile, felonies and gross misdemeanors which are committed as hate crimes carry an additional sentence of one to twenty years in Nevada State Prison. However, this enhancement may not exceed the length of the sentence for the underlying crime.

Example: Jeff burns down Sam’s home in North Las Vegas because Sam is African-American. Officers from the local law enforcement agency arrest him for arson as a hate crime. Jeff receives a 15-year prison sentence for the arson and a 15-year prison enhancement since it was a hate crime. The judge may not impose an enhancement longer than 15 years because the underlying sentence was only 15 years.

In determining the length of the additional hate crime sentence for gross misdemeanors and felonies, Nevada judges consider the following information:

  1. The facts and circumstances of the crime;
  2. The criminal history of the defendant;
  3. The impact of the crime on any victim;
  4. Any mitigating factors presented by the person; and
  5. Any other relevant information. 4

Note that first-degree murder committed as a hate crime can potentially carry the death penalty. 5

4. What are the defenses?

The most effective way to fight Nevada hate crime allegations is to defend against the underlying criminal charge. If the underlying charge gets dropped, the hate crime enhancement becomes moot.

Depending on the case, common defenses that could get a criminal case dropped include:

  • self-defense
  • accident
  • mistaken identity
  • false accusations
  • police department misconduct

Even if the underlying criminal charge stands, it still may be possible to get the hate crime enhancement dismissed. That way, the defendant would not face an additional penalty. The most common defense to hate crime allegations is that the defendant did not commit the crime out of bias.

Example: Jeremy pickpockets Henry, who is in a wheelchair. A policeman sees and arrests Jeremy for larceny from a person as a hate crime because Henry is handicapped. But the real reason Jeremy targeted Henry is because Jeremy thought Henry would be an easy target to steal from.

As long as the district attorney cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jeremy’s motivations were based on prejudice, then Jeremy could be convicted of theft but not with the hate crime enhancement. 6

Another potential defense to certain hate crime allegations is that the defendant’s conduct was protected free speech and free expression under the First Amendment.7

5. How is the federal hate crime law different?

Like Nevada state law, the federal hate crime law criminalizes harming others because of their race, color, religion, national original/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender/gender identity, or disability. Unlike Nevada law, federal law limits the scope of hate crimes to violent crimes. It specifically prohibits:

  • willfully causing bodily injury to any person, or
  • attempting to cause bodily injury to any person through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device

The typical penalty is a fine and/or up to 10 years in Federal Prison. But the maximum prison sentence becomes life in prison if either:

  • death results;
  • the offense includes kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap;
  • the offense includes aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse; or
  • the offense includes an attempt to kill. 8

Learn more at FBI.gov.

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Call our criminal law firm for legal advice. We offer free consultations in Las Vegas, Reno, and throughout the state.

Las Vegas Defense Group offers discount rates and payment plans during the Coronavirus / COVID 19 pandemic.

In California? See our article on California hate-crime charges.

Legal References

  1. NRS 207.185; NRS 193.1675. See, e.g., David Ferrara and Glenn Puit, Prosecutors ponder hate-crime charges in Henderson shooting spree, Las Vegas Review-Journal (December 1, 2020) and Associated Press, Terror, Hate-Crime Counts Mulled in Vegas in 2-State Rampage, US News (December 1, 2020) (re. alleged shootings by Texas residents Shawn McDonnell, Christopher McDonnell and Kayleigh Lewis alleged on Thanksgiving Day in Henderson – according to Michael Schwartzer, a chief deputy Clark County district attorney – as well as a police chase involving the Arizona Department of Public Safety in La Paz County and shootings in Parker, AZ).
  2. NRS 193.1675 (“This section does not create a separate offense but provides an additional penalty for the primary offense, whose imposition is contingent upon the finding of the prescribed fact.“).
  3. NRS 207.185.
  4. NRS 193.1675.
  5. NRS 200.030; NRS 200.030.
  6. See, e.g., Abrego v. State, (2002) 118 Nev. 54, 38 P.3d 868.
  7. See Virginia v. Black, (2002) 538 U.S. 343, 123 S. Ct. 1536; see Matal v. Tam, (United States Supreme Court, 2017) 137 S. Ct. 1744, 198 L. Ed. 2d 366.
  8. 18 USC 249; The Matthew Shepard And James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act Of 2009. These cases are prosecuted by the Civil Rights Division.

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