Nevada Court has two divisions- Supreme Court and District Courts. District Courts have two divisions- Municipal Courts and Justice Courts. There is no Court of Appeals in this state. This is one of the eleven states of US which do not have any Appellate courts.
Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of Nevada. There are seven judges in the Supreme Court. Of them, one who has served the court for longest tenure is appointed the Chief Justice and others are the Associate Justices. These seven judges are elected by official nonpartisan elections for a term of six years. In case of a vacancy due to some unprecedented occurrence like sudden death or resignation, Governor of Nevada appoints the justice for a term of two years. Supreme Court hears Nevada court cases that come from the District Courts of the state.
There are nine Judicial Districts where District Nevada Courts are located. They are Carson City, Washoe County, Churchill County, Lyon County, Elko County, Esmeralda, Storey County, Mineral County, Nye County, Humboldt County, Lincoln County, White Pine County, Clark County, Douglas County, Eureka County, Lander County and Pershing County. The District Courts can exercise its jurisdiction over the criminal and civil cases which are beyond the authority of other courts. The criminal cases tried in District Courts cover felonies, misdemeanors and minor offenses. Civil cases that are handled by District Courts include civil claims of disputable amount more than $10000, juvenile cases and the cases pertaining to neglect and abuse. Every District Court has a different family court section that deals with divorce, custodial debates, involuntary hospitalization etc.
The jurisdiction of Nevada Justice Court is confined to a particular category of civil and criminal cases. Justice courts hears the criminal cases of misdemeanors and civil cases of claims of less than $ 10,000 excluding the interest, financial matters, dispute of landlord and tenant, forfeitures, penalties, domestic violence, workplace harassment etc. On the other hand Municipal Courts of Nevada hears the criminal cases of violation of city regulations that are included under misdemeanors. Civil cases that this court deals with include tax collections or claims of an amount lesser than $2500. However, determining the validity of tax and assessment of real property etc do not come under its jurisdiction.
If you want to look for Nevada court records, District Court is your one stop station. You will get records of any case that have been ever heard in any Nevada Court except for dispute of landlord and tenant and ordinance infraction (civil cases) and ordinance violation again as well as traffic rule violation (criminal cases).
The online database has made the work all the more easy. You can access the records from anywhere because now these records are open to public access. They extract information from government-registered agencies. These websites have proved to be real benefits for journalists, research fellows, investigators and students. Apart from these websites there are developments in this direction like PACER. Public Access of Courtroom Electronic Records, commonly known as PACER gives you direct access to the court records which you can avail for a marginal cost.
