Freedom - 1, State Regime Repressing Creativity and Wit - 0

Rest easy Nevadans. Your civil rights have been preserved. On Wednesday, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles may not prevent a car owner from displaying a license plate reading "HOE". Let Freedom Ring!

The RJ reports:

A Las Vegas man won a courtroom battle Wednesday with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles over his "HOE" license plate, which the agency refused to renew on grounds that he was using a slang reference to prostitutes.

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the DMV based its refusal of William Junge's vanity plate on definitions found in the Web-based Urban Dictionary, which includes
user contributions. It ruled that the contributed definitions "do not always reflect generally accepted definitions for words."

Not so fast Nevada DMV. You can't just deny a person license plates without due process. Not on the ACLU's watch! The ACLU, recognizing the crucial importance of this case represented Mr. Junge before the Nevada Supreme Court to make sure that the driver's rights to have a ridiculous license plate were protected. (RJ)

To be clear, apparently Mr. Junge wanted "TAHOE" for his Chevy Tahoe license plate with a Lake Tahoe panorama, but "TAHOE" wasn't available so he settled for "HOE". Not sure what's more ridiculous: that Mr. Junge paid court costs and attorneys fees so that his Chevy Tahoe would he Tahoe-themed or that the DMV felt this was an issue it needed to defend in court.

God Bless Freedom and [Ta]hoes of all kinds!

Monday Roundup

If you're "urban" [re: African-American, Latino, Asian], Harrah's is willing to overcharge you for drinks, admission and ambiance at Poetry nightclub, but just isn't comfortable with you walking through its expensive mall at Caesars [allegedly] (Marketwatch)

Seriously, Judge Assad?!?  The Nevada Supreme Court already reversed your censure from when you had a woman handcuffed and jailed for just over two hours to assure her boyfriend appeared in court on traffic charges.  Did you really need to appeal the requirement that you apologize  (RJ)  [whoops Todd Phillips, maybe Judge Assad (pictured right) is the state's biggest asshole]

Love gambling, but you're frustrated that there just aren't enough teenage girls around while you do it?  You may soon be in luck in Nevada.  (Scripps News)

Nevada's biggest a**hole

Everyone meet Todd Phillips.  We've briefly profiled his efforts to protect the rights of men against sexual discrimination before (post available here).  Well, congratulations, to Mr. Phillips.  The Nevada Equal Rights Commission officially made him the state's biggest asshole on Friday.

KTNV reports:

Phillips claimed sexual discrimination against the Las Vegas Athletic Club for letting women enroll for free during certain promotions while men paid $10.

"It is discrimination and they are breaking the law," says Todd Phillips.

LVAC claimed it was trying to be more inviting to women. . . .

The Commission decided in a 3-to-1 vote that the gym's promotional practices discriminate.

"I am tickled to death we prevailed today it's a tremendous victory for Nevada Civil Rights," Says Todd Phillips. 

Phillips claims he went after the LVAC because he was a member there and personally suffered discrimination.

Seriously Todd?  You fought about this at the gym?  Given the amount of men who seem to enjoy watching me and the other ladies work out, you'd think Todd would be all about getting more women in the club.

LV Sun is reporting this could affect free admission at clubs for women too.  (LV Sun)  In other words, when you boys get tired of the sausage fests when you go out, you can blame Todd Phillips, civil rights crusader!

In Other News--Mid-Week Roundup

In the Wynn lawsuit to recover $2 million in losses from Joe Francis, founder of Girls Gone Wild, Francis has alleged that Steve Wynn provided prostitutes to urge Francis' to run up a gambling debt. Wynn hit back with a defamation lawsuit just three hours after Francis’ filing.
Francis alleges Wynn was with Francis and the prostitutes in his hotel room and that Francis was told the women were Wynn’s “personal gift to you.” (Las Vegas Sun) [you gotta love this town]

A man who clearly wants to be hated by woman [and men who want to look at those women exercising] has one a ruling from the Nevada Equal Rights Commission that the Las Vegas Athletic Club was discriminating when it offered free enrollment at its gyms to women and not men. (Las Vegas Now)

The Review-Journal offers a breakdown of yesterday's primary election races that were automatic wins for the incumbent due to lack of a challenger. (Review-Journal)

Thurs Roundup

It looks like the Hep-C infected by Endoscopy Center are going to have to wait for justice [unless you consider Dr. "Needles" Desai's stroke to be justice served from on-high]. During a deposition on Tuesday, the clinic’s office manager asserted her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination [Desai has already indicated pre-stroke that he will "plead the 5th" if deposed]. (Las Vegas Sun). Currently, the trial is set for sometime in October 2009. (Las Vegas Now)

Harmful Error has the contribution and expense report in the race for the Supreme Court B seat. (Harmful Error)

George Knapp decries the ethics and malpractice "enforcement" mechanism in Nevada for doctors. (Las Vegas City Life). He notes that physicians on the Board of Osteopathic Medicine don't think it will be necessary to bar anesthesiologist Dr. Scott Young from practicing medicine, even though they have strong evidence that he re-used syringes on different patients. [so any of your attorneys feeling down about the lack of ethics in the profession within Nevada, cheer up! you'll always know Nevada doctors are worse]

And in federal court, U.S. District Judge Hunt ruled that the First Amendment gives orthodox jew police detectives the right to wear a beard in conformity with their religious beliefs. (Review-Journal)

Tues Roundup

Citing due process concerns, U.S. District Judge James Mahan issued an order stopping Nevada's new sex offender law from going into effect until constitutional challenges are resolved. Arguments on the law constitutionality are set for Aug. 26. (Review-Journal)

The domestic violence hearing for everyone's favorite steak knife wielding Nevada Assemblywoman was postponed because her husband/[alleged] victim didn't show up to testify. (Review-Journal)

Apparently, the Wynn resort is in a suing mood. Earlier this week, the casino resort filed suit against NBA-star Alonzo Mourning's charity for an unpaid bill (LA Times) and now the Strip resort has sued "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis, saying he owes the company $2 million in unpaid gambling debts. (Review-Journal)

Wednesday Roundup

Sadly, the "Naked Burglar" will not be able to commit more crimes. Police arrested a man who they suspect to be the nude man was caught on surveillance tape breaking into a convenience store, stealing alcohol and weapons and attempted to disguise himself by placing a trash bucket over his head. (Las Vegas Now)

Love is on trial for murder--that is, Sherri Love is on trial for murder. Her murder trial is before District Court Judge Stewart Bell and the family of the 7 yr-old victim is an attendance in tears. (Review-Journal)

The ACLU has joined the constitutional challenge to Nevada's new sex offender law on behalf of the most sympathetic group of Plaintiffs ever--12 sex offenders. (Review-Journal) The lawsuit claims the new law punishes sex offenders for crimes for which they've already served time.



Apparently Oakland Radiers' receiver Javon Walker's earlier claim of being kidnapped from the Bellagio is dead wrong. Las Vegas police have arrested one man and were searching for another involved in the beating and robbery of Walker. The police are now saying that Walker climbed into Fadel's black Range Rover sport utility vehicle after partying in Las Vegas the night of June 15 only to be beaten and robbed. (Review-Journal)



In Carson City, District Judge Richard Wagner removed three rural Nevada elected officials from the November ballot because of the term limits constitutional amendment, which was passed by voters in the 1994 and 1996 elections. The amendment prohibits officeholders from serving more than 12 years in the same office. (Review-Journal)



Lawyers for the CEO of software company eTreppid Technologies LLC are asking U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Cooke to impose sanctions on a former executive, who they allege is withholding computer drives and other evidence that had been seized by the FBI in 2007 (and then released due to a 4th Amendment violation). (Review-Journal)

U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson found a man accused of impersonating a notary public for members of an "imaginary" Indian tribe in contempt of court, but allowed him to avoid jail time (after warning him not to notarize any more documents). (Review-Journal)

A columnist explains why its legal for motor scooters to drive in the travel lanes. (Review-Journal)

Thurs Roundup

Chief Judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Alex Kozinski, was scheduled to preside over the obscenity trial of a Hollywood adult filmmaker until it was revealed the Judge he had a publicly accessible website hosting explicit pictures, including women naked on all fours and painted as cows. You can see the cow pic and other NSFW pics from Judge Kozinski's website by clicking here. (LA Times) [honestly, the pics from the website are hilarious. I'll take a Judge with a sense of humor over the train wreck of Halverson anyday]

Staff from the Attorneys General's offices in Utah, Arizona and Nevada gathered in Vegas yesterday to discuss polygamy. (Fox News)

Speaking of affairs, Governor Gibbons has helped put the state back in the national spotlight as a result of his having an [alleged] affair while Governor and sending 860 text messages to his [alleged] mistress using a government text phone. (AP) George Knapp theorizes what the messages might have been. (Las Vegas City Life) [maybe Gov. Gibbons and Judge Halverson should team up for a traveling Nevada side show]

The Nevada Supreme Court is conducting its first hearing via webcast. (Harmful Error)

Congratulations to Lisa W. Lackland and Anthony L. Martin, who Lewis & Roca named as partners in their Las Vegas office. (JLNS)

The wives of two Chinese men accused of stealing more than $400 million from the Bank of China distanced themselves from their husbands yesterday, claiming they were not aware of the scheme to steal from the bank. (Review-Journal)

Clark Co. officially suspended Shadow Mountain Surgical Center's business license after reports that the surgery center continues to use unsafe injection procedures. (Review-Journal) [if Clark Co. keeps putting these unsafe medical practices out of business, where are Las Vegans going to go to get Hep-C when they really need it?!?]

Hulk Hogan's former wife wants the former wrestler cited by a Florida judge for failing to pay his share of a $4.2 million Las Vegas condo. (AP)

As part of a federal lawsuit brought by the SEC against Las Vegas-based Gold-Quest International, a North Dakota group of Native Americans calling themselves the Little Shell Indian nation (although they are not recognized as an Indian nation by U.S. or Canada) is seeking $1.7 million in damages. The matter is before U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson. (Review-Journal)

Street Preachers have dropped their First Amendment lawsuit (brought by the ACLU) against a Clark Co. ordinance limiting the size of signs that can be used on Strip sidewalks. The ordinance was changed to state signs may not pose an obstruction. (Review-Journal) [thank the Lord! Now Bellagio fountain visitors can again look forward to a nutjob screaming that they will burn in hell--the Founding Fathers would be proud]

In the Fernley flood trial, the chief government engineer overseeing an irrigation canal that broke and flooded 590 homes in Northern Nevada in January sought to reassure a U.S. District Judge Lloyd George on Wednesday that current reduced flows in the canal are safe. (Review-Journal)

Judge Mosley's competition for the District 14 judicial seat is coming out swinging. His signs declare "Tired of Corruption? ChrisDavisFor Judge.com." (Review-Journal)

Wed Roundup

Congratulations to Robert Eglet, senior partner or Mainor Eglet Cottle, on obtaining a $4.5 million verdict for his client who was injured by a driver who attempted to pass a large tractor trailer on US 95 and struck the client's vehicle head-on. (KVBC)

ACLU is unhappy with a wedding handbilling law that says it's "unlawful" to solicit "any person to be married" while on courthouse property. (Review-Journal)

The Las Vegas Metro Police gang unit is trying to track down the person/people who defaced several restrooms in the Regional Justice Center with gang graffiti. (Las Vegas Sun)

The State Board of Education is taking up to 21 months to revoke the licenses of teachers convicted of crimes, including sex crimes. (Las Vegas Sun)

It's County official criminal charge time: a Nye County Commissioner is accused of bribery (Review-Journal) and in Washoe County a water engineer is accused of forming two bogus companies to sell county water well capacity rights he did not own (Review-Journal).

Members of the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners may soon have to divulge conflicts of interest. (Review-Journal). Meanwhile an editorial says the fact that Shadow Mountain Surgical Center was allowed to continue operating after the facility was found to have infection control problems shows that Nevada doctors are still allowed to flout the rules. (Review-Journal)

The Transportation Security Agency will be using body-scanning machines that generate revealing images of people underneath their clothes at McCarran Intl. Airport. (Review-Journal)

Up in Reno, Federal Judge Loren A. Smith awarded more than $4.2 million to the estate of late Nevada rancher and "Sagebrush Rebellion" private property rights advocate Wayne Hage, ruling that the U.S. Forest Service committed a constitutional "taking" of his water rights during a decades-long dispute over livestock grazing on federal land. (Review-Journal) And an editorial celebrates the now-deceased Mr. Hage's fight for property rights. (Review-Journal)

Fox Rothschild had a big jump in revenue and established a full service office in Las Vegas during 2007. (Law.com)

Other News (ACLU, Dog Food)

In other Vegas legal news:

The ACLU is stepping up the defend the right of disgruntled Vegas fiancees to picket cheap jewlery stores (L.A. Times)

If you're dog or was poisoned from tainted pet food last summer, Las Vegas based ChemNutra Inc. may be to blame. The company was indicted yesterday for alleged misbranding of food put into interstate commerce. The Las Vegas Sun reports:

The indictment says that although the United States has no coordinated way to track pet deaths, the Food and Drug Administration estimates that 1,950 cats and 2,200 dogs died from eating contaminated pet food in 2007.

Careful where you protest, you could go to jail

A Las Vegas woman is serving two days in jail this week for violating a court order prohibiting her from picketing a jewlery store. Apparently, Diana Bickel, became disenchanted with the Tower of Jewels after the diamond the store set in her engagement ring fell out one month later. When discussion of the faulty installation reached an impasse, Bickel took to the sidewalk in front of the store with signs that read, "I have a problem with Tower of Jewels," and "I want my cash back Jack."

Problem is, the sidewalk in front of the Sahara Ave jewlery store is private property.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports:

Diana Bickel claims she was exercising her First Amendment rights last month when she picketed a Las Vegas jewelry store to complain that she received poor service when she had a heart-shaped diamond set in an engagement ring.

Not only did District Judge Susan Johnson disagree with Bickel on Tuesday, but she sent her to jail. While Bickel serves a two-day sentence, her attorneys vow to take her plight to federal court. "It's ridiculous," said attorney Barry Levinson, who was stunned when his client was carted off to jail. "I'll be damned if I am going to let a judge violate someone's constitutional right."

The dispute landed in District Court last month, when Johnson had to determine whether Bickel had a right to use the sidewalk as a public forum from which to exercise her right to free speech or whether she was trespassing.

To solve the alleged trespassing, Judge Johnson issued a court order restricting the picketing to the public sidewalk on the other side of Sahara. Bickel also agreed to stop picketing until the First Amendment issue was resolved in Federal Court.

But Bickel returned twice. Rather than picketing in front of the store, she hoisted her signs and walked from the corner on the north side of Sahara into the middle of the road, each time obeying the pedestrian traffic signal.

"The fact that she is walking across the street, pressing a little button to cross back across the street -- there is nothing wrong with that," Levinson said.

On Tuesday, Johnson ruled that Bickel violated her court order to stay away from the business or impede customers visiting the jewelry store.

Other cities have civil rights disputes over racial or class discrimination. In Vegas, our First Amendment fights boil down to diamonds and poorly crafted jewlery.