County Clerk and the Clerk of the Court
Supreme Court Case History
In 1999 then Washoe County Clerk Amy Harvey filed a Petition in the Nevada Supreme Court requesting clarification of Article 4, Section 32, of the Nevada Constitution which provides that the County Clerk is the Clerk of the Court and challenging the usurpation of her Clerk of Court duties by the Second Judicial District Court.
On October 10, 2001 the Supreme Court rendered it decision finding: “A district court may exercise control over the court clerk's office either directly, by assuming all or part of the court clerk's functions, or indirectly, by supervising the county clerk in the performance of his or her duties as the ex officio court clerk. Therefore, the District Court has not usurped, the office of the County Clerk in Washoe County.” Click here to view the written Decision in it’s entirety.
As of December 14, 2001 the judges of the Second Judicial District Court assumed all duties of the Clerk of Court for the Second Judicial District. Since that time the offices of the Washoe County Clerk and the Clerk of Court for the Second Judicial District Court have operated independently of one another, and the Washoe County Clerk has not had custody or control of any court documents or files.
At the time the decision was rendered, the County Clerks in all other 16 counties in Nevada were the Clerk of the Court. Since then, as of the spring 2013, two other District Courts have assumed the duties of the Clerk of the Court: Clark County and Churchill County.
If you are interested in the legal aspects and filings in the case, please see the list of documents below.