Nevada Judiciary

The Nevada Supreme Court is expediting an appeal of a District Court ruling that allowed a proposed 3 percent gaming tax increase on the November ballot.

Chief Justice Mark Gibbons set a tentative hearing date for July 1 in Carson City on the appeal by the Nevada Resort Association of Senior Judge Miriam Shearing's April 3 ruling.

Judge Shearing declared that the ballot initiative proposed by the Nevada teachers union meets the legal standards that are required to give voters an opportunity to decide the issue. The Nevada Resort Association filed a notice of appeal in April 11 to begin the appellate process.

The initiative, if it passes, would increase the state gaming tax on casinos earning over $1 million a month from 6.75 percent to 9.75 percent and dedicate the increase to public education.

Chief Justice Gibbons said the justices will rule on the appeal as quickly as possible to prevent delays in printing the election ballots. He said a briefing schedule would be set that would require the parties to submit legal documents to the Supreme Court in advance of the tentative July 1 hearing.

The expedited schedule for the ballot question is not unusual.

In 2006, with several controversial ballot questions being contested, the Nevada Supreme Court established specific timelines and expedited procedures for ballot-related appeals and decisions were rendered prior to the late-September deadline for the printing and distributing of absentee ballots.

Chief Justice Gibbons said any appeals on other potential ballot initiatives this year would also be expedited.

“,Nevada voters have a right to cast their ballots on appropriate matters and the Supreme Court will do whatever it can to prevent unnecessary delays,”, Chief Justice Gibbons said. “,These initiative cases usually present very difficult questions of law that must be decided in a short period of time, but I am confident the Supreme Court can resolve them in a timely manner.”,

Challenges to ballot issues are first heard and ruled on by District Court judges before the high court may consider the case on appeal.

The appeal of the tax initiative was filed very early compared with the matters during the 2006 cycle, when the high court scheduled oral arguments on several ballot initiatives for Aug. 23, 2006. All briefs had to be submitted by Aug. 16, 2006 and the parties were told that if they missed the deadline, their case would not be heard.