DISCLAIMER: In full disclosure and transparency, Judge Michelle Leavitt and Producer/Writer Sue Leavitt are sisters.
A recent Nevada Supreme Court decision is changing the way city of Las Vegas Municipal Court Judges are handling misdemeanor domestic violence cases. The new ruling from the high court means jury trials will now take place in Municipal Court.
Since Municipal Court judges have not ever conducted jury trials, they called in help from District Court Judge, Michelle Leavitt. “The Municipal Court judges are starting to do jury trials on their battery domestic violence cases so I think It’s really great they are getting together to train so they can do it correctly and proper.”
Judge Leavitt has been a district court judge for over 23 years and has presided over hundreds of jury trials during the span of her career. She began her career as a judge in Municipal Court, Department 3, back in 1999 and served with the city for 3 years. Then in 2002 was appointed to the bench in district court.
Judge Leavitt was asked by the municipal court judges to come help them prepare for the new trials. “We do jury trials pretty routinely in district court,” said Leavitt. “We have heavy caseloads so I’m picking a new jury panel almost every week. Most of the judges here all have a lot of trial experience so they have picked juries before but some haven’t picked a jury in a while.”
Until recently, those accused of battery domestic violence were not offered the option of a jury trial. Since a person convicted of this crime must give up their right to possess a firearm, the Supreme Court recently ruled the loss of this constitutional right guaranteed in the Second Amendment deems misdemeanor domestic battery a serious offense, giving those accused the right to a jury trial.
The new ruling will not mean you’ll be called to jury duty more often, it just means that instead of being summoned to Justice or District Court, you could be summoned to serve jury duty in Municipal Court. Leavitt says, “If you get a jury duty summons for Municipal Court, come do your jury duty, it’s going to be short. The cases are misdemeanors and will not last long, versus getting a jury summons in district court where you could be there a month.”