New rules adopted for viewing of criminal trial evidence

By Cy Ryan

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010 | 9:23 a.m.

CARSON CITY – Lawyers and the general public will find more red tape when they want to view evidence from a criminal trial because of a new policy aimed at preventing tampering.

A person wishing to examine exhibits and records will now have to present a valid identification card, sign in and identify what they want to look at. A lawyer must list the state where he or she is licensed and a bar number.

"In a child sexual assault case, we don’t want those (pictures) on the Internet,” said Jim Hardesty, a justice of the Nevada Supreme Court, which adopted statewide rules on storing and preserving evidence.

The person with the records will be required to copy any exhibit and the custodian must be present if there is viewing, listening or photographing of any exhibit.

Hardesty said “on the surface it may seem like greater restraints but it is for better regulation of the evidence.”

The preservation of such evidence is important in the case of a retrial. There might be fingerprints on a weapon, DNA on clothing or blood. Hardesty said individuals handling those items could damage evidence.

"A number of precautions must be maintained,” the justice said.

A committee worked about 14 months developing these regulations, surveying all the district judges. The approaches by the district judge to preserving the evidence was “all over the map,” Hardesty said.

There had never been a statewide regulation on the issue until now.

The court rule says these exhibits are presumed to be public documents, but a district judge has the power to limit access. “The order sealing or redacting must be as narrowly tailored as possible,” according to the new regulation that takes effect in 30 days.