LAS VEGAS (AP) — A change in Nevada state law to ban gun ownership by people convicted of domestic violence led the state Supreme Court to expand provisions for jury trials in misdemeanor cases.
A unanimous ruling Thursday points to a 2015 law that justices say means a conviction for misdemeanor domestic violence can no longer be considered a petty offense.
The court calls limiting state and U.S. Constitutional rights to own a gun a serious penalty that a jury should decide.
Michael Pariente, the attorney who won the ruling on behalf of Christopher Anderson, says it brings Nevada in line with all but a few other U.S. states.
It could also lead to increased costs in a state where officials tallied more than 30,000 domestic violence arrests in 2017, including more than 21,000 in and around Las Vegas.
