Las Vegas Injury Lawyers Blog

Written By Las Vegas based Law Clerk: Robert Maxey (Las Vegas, Nevada)

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas is an institution of higher learning. During the years of our youth in school, we are taught to obey and follow instructions. However, once students are in college they face in a world of choices. Most freshmen in college are considered adults, and therefore are treated as such. Students take on the reasonability of picking out their career and life paths. Here they embark on a journey of education, to achieve a degree that will open up the doors to the opportunities they desire.

Students are expected to make many choices regarding the rest of their lives while in college. It is perhaps the most advanced learning a person will experience within their lifetime. The boundaries of college learning are not confined to textbooks and classrooms. Universities offer students a wide array of areas of learning through clubs, organizations, fraternities and sororities, lecture series, athletic teams, campus events and student government. All of these areas offer the student an additional way to enhance their education, and experience something unique.

Recently a student attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, however, has enhanced their learning through a different means, in the form of a settlement of $20,000. Robert Maxey, a junior studying philosophy and economics, has settled his lawsuit against the Consolidated Students of the University of Nevada (CSUN), which is the branch of student government at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV).

The state of Nevada has some of the strictest Open Meeting Law requirements, which help maintain an open and honest government. These laws ensure that all people have appropriate opportunity to participate, and witness their government taking place. Maxey had been elected student body president in 2010, but quickly after his election found himself in a sham meeting to disqualify him. The meeting had been prompted by his opposition, with the intent to remove him from office. In the lawsuit that Maxey filed, he alleged that the CSUN meeting violated not only Open Meeting Laws, preventing students from being fully aware of the actions of CSUN, but also due process.

The lawsuit lasted the entire term that Maxey would have served as student body president. Lawyers representing CSUN (despite previous requests for settlement from Maxey's attorney Peter Goatz) agreed only at the end of Maxey's would be term to settle. Although the matter had been settled, Maxey laments that no real justice has been performed and the denial of such a great opportunity is regrettable.

Full information the story can be found here: UNLV student wins $20K after suing student senate

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Written By Las Vegas based Law Clerk: Robert Maxey (Las Vegas, Nevada)

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) passed in 1966 and required our government to be transparent and more inclusive. The act allowed for citizens to have access to public information and be given it at minimal costs upon request. These laws were, however, restricted to the power of the federal government and states soon adopted similar laws.

With an eye toward the FOIA, states pursued new laws providing for an open and honest government. From the 1960's forward, Open Meeting Laws began showing up in every state. In 1977, Nevada developed some of the strictest requirements of any state for an open government. The Nevada Open Meeting Law (which falls under NRS 240) introduction provides that, "[i]n enacting this chapter, the legislature finds and declares that all public bodies exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly."

The seriousness that Nevada placed upon meetings being available to the public has played a role in the outcome of many governmental decisions. Unlike other states, that may have weak open meeting laws, Nevada offers healthy cures to those who disregard the law. Criminal charges may be sought against those who have violated Nevada Open Meeting Law. Further, the Office of the Attorney General of Nevada has to the power to void decisions made at unlawful meetings. This power has been wielded to bar countless decisions subject to the Nevada Open Meeting Law.

While these powers offer teeth to the Nevada Open Meeting Law, the recent passage of AB59 has given even more firepower to the Attorney General. AB59 expanded upon and clarified the requirements needed to conduct an open meeting. Some of these clarifications required more notifications to be added to the agenda of a meeting. These include,

"Notification that:
(I) Items on the agenda may be taken out of order;
(II) The public body may combine two or more agenda
items for consideration; and
(III) The public body may remove an item from the
agenda or delay discussion relating to an item on the agenda at any time."

More importantly AB59 has allowed for a fine of up to $500, to be assessed against officials who knowingly attend a meeting that violates the law. Additionally penalties like this, will likely result in a decrease in the number of violations that occur each year.

While it is efficient to have elected leaders perform administrative duties without always having to answer to the public directly, it is crucially important that officials stay connected with the public and hear their concerns. A democracy functions best when those who represent us are easily reminded of who and what they are representing. Current Open Meeting Laws allow for this to happen.

Full information about the bill can be found here: AB59

Information regarding Nevada's History of Open Government can be found here: Open Government

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