Supreme Court approves ‘short trials’

Friday, June 9, 2000 | 11:11 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A procedure for condensing civil trials to one day in cases involving $40,000 or less was approved Thursday by the Nevada Supreme Court.

To be used on a voluntary basis, the "short trial" will have a four-member jury, and attorneys will be limited to three hours each in presenting their cases. There will be no clerks or bailiffs in the courtrooms.

Justice William Maupin called it an "interesting experiment" and another alternative to resolve lawsuits. He said it should be a "lot quicker" than the traditional trial.

Maupin said major cases will still have a full hearing in District Court.

The short trial will be available in Clark and Washoe counties, which have mandatory arbitration programs, and in those counties that use voluntary arbitration.

The proposal from insurance companies and the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association was approved by the 1999 Legislature. The court on Thursday adopted the rules to put the procedure in place.

Judges can be attorneys selected by each side to preside. They must have 15 years of civil trial experience, or a retired judge can be used. The judges will be paid $150 an hour or $1,500 for the trial, with each side to pay an equal share. Each side will also pay for the jury.

There won't be any formal court reporting unless paid for by the person requesting it.

Attorneys will be limited to three hours each in presenting their cases, no matter how many plaintiffs or defendants. In addition, each side will be allowed 15 minutes to question potential jurors from a panel of 12. To reach a verdict, three of the four jurors must agree. The judge will encourage both sides to limit jury instructions.

Any judgment may not exceed $40,000 per plaintiff, unless attorneys for both sides agree to waive the limit.

Many of the documents to be presented at trial could be admitted into evidence without the necessity of providing live witnesses to verify them. These might include records of wage loss, auto repair estimates, photographs and other documents stipulated to by both sides.

The court rules provide that much of the technical details will be handled before the trial.

Maupin said he expects the short-trial procedure to be used extensively at first because both sides have advocated it. Other alternative methods to resolve disputes are working quite well now, he said. The Supreme Court, he said, would be keeping a close watch to determine how it's working.