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Panel considers allowing audiovisual recordings of some justice‑court jury trials and 5‑year retention for preliminary hearing records
Summary
Senate Bill 20 would remove a 1967 requirement that jury trials in justice court be reported by a court reporter and allow limited‑jurisdiction jury proceedings to be recorded by audiovisual systems; the bill also sets a five‑year minimum retention period for preliminary hearing recordings.
The Assembly Judiciary Committee heard Senate Bill 20, which would allow jury trials in justice court to be captured by standard audiovisual recording systems rather than mandating a live court reporter and would prescribe minimum retention for preliminary hearing recordings.
John McCormick, assistant court administrator at the Nevada Supreme Court, told the committee the bill removes an antiquated statutory reporting requirement dating to 1967 that currently obligates justice‑court jury trials to be reported by a court reporter. McCormick said audio‑visual recording is already used for other trial proceedings and the bill would permit limited‑jurisdiction jury trials to be recorded similarly, using the state’s standard courtroom recording systems.
McCormick said the change responds to practical limits on court‑reporter availability, particularly in rural areas, where judges have told him they struggle to secure reporters for domestic‑violence misdemeanor jury trials that Nevada case law (Anderson v. Eighth Judicial District Court, 2019) has treated as jury‑trial‑eligible in certain circumstances. He described the 1967 statute as inconsistent with more recent precedent and practice and said the bill would align justice court procedure with audiovisual recording used elsewhere.
The bill also sets a minimum retention period for preliminary hearing recordings at five years, McCormick said, and he told the committee that record retention schedules vary among states. He said district court trial records are generally permanent while limited‑jurisdiction records usually have shorter retention schedules—often tied to statutory enhancement windows such as misdemeanor enhancement timelines (roughly seven years in Nevada practice). Committee members asked whether the audiovisual recordings are transcribed; McCormick said recordings can be transcribed by outside services, contracted court reporters, or qualified staff if a transcript is needed for appeal.
Assemblymembers sought clarification about the bill’s language (for example whether “before a jury” meant “in front of a jury”) and about the decision to remove several sections of the original bill; McCormick said the current reprint pares the measure down to the recording and retention items after stakeholders (public defenders, district attorneys and trial courts) concluded other proposed changes, such as a statutory fix for so‑called “dangling misdemeanors,” lacked a feasible collective solution.
No votes were taken; the committee closed the hearing after receiving no public testimony and presenters’ final remarks.
