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DIDS board orders counties to notify noncompliant counsel and withhold new cases until CLE requirements met
Summary
The Nevada DIDS board voted unanimously to notify counties whose contracted attorneys failed to meet a five-hour criminal CLE requirement and to withhold assignment of new cases for noncompliant attorneys until they comply by a March 1 deadline.
The Nevada Department of Indigent Defense Services board voted unanimously Feb. 6 to notify counties that contract with attorneys who have not met updated continuing legal education (CLE) requirements and to withhold assignment of new cases until those attorneys are in compliance.
Deputy Director Brenda Roberts told the board that regulations updated in December 2023 require indigent defense providers in rural counties to supply CLE transcripts showing at least five hours of criminal-law CLE; she said 102 of 140 active attorneys on DIDS’s list have complied so far. "We sent out four reminder emails between October and January," Roberts said, and noted the regulations do not include an enforcement mechanism.
Board member Chris Giunchigliani moved for the board to notify counties with noncompliant contracted attorneys, add those attorneys to a noncompliance list, and implement a March 1 compliance deadline; Jeff Wells seconded. Giunchigliani argued counties should be informed and that a public list could encourage compliance. Dayvid Figler suggested giving a grace period and explicitly notifying counties so they “will be scrambling” to comply.
The motion, as adopted, directs DIDS staff to notify counties of noncompliant attorneys if compliance is not achieved by March 1, to add noncompliant attorneys to a noncompliance list, and to suspend assignment of new cases to those attorneys until they meet the CLE requirement. The board recorded the vote as "passed unanimously."
Deputy Director Roberts confirmed that DIDS’s online CLE offerings are free and available to attorneys beyond the active list on request. Board members discussed additional steps, including county notification and a transparent timeline for enforcement, as methods to increase compliance.
The action affects counties that contract for indigent defense services and the attorneys who represent indigent clients under those contracts. The board did not specify additional sanctions beyond withholding new case assignments, and it directed staff to implement the notification process and report back on effects and any further recommended steps.
The board moved on to other agenda items after the vote; the motion’s implementation details and any follow-up reporting will be considered in subsequent meetings.
