In case you missed it…
Transparency
Has Incline Village’s often-criticized local government — the Incline Village General Improvement District, or “IVGID” — finally gone off the deep end? According to a new report by NPRI’s Steven Miller, staff at the IVGID openly confessed to destroying or concealing public records as a matter of policy — a felony-level crime under Nevada state law. After area resident Mark Smith submitted a public records request for certain emails from the District’s executive, IVGID staff explained that, as a matter of “policy,” emails are only available for 30 days before being destroyed. The policy is a clear violation of Nevada state law, which expressly requires that local governments permanently retain the email correspondence of such key executive personnel. (Read more)
Civil asset forfeiture
In Ohio during the 1920s, people caught with “intoxicating liquors” could be tried by rural mayors, who were actually paid for each conviction. The U.S. Supreme Court later found that such an arrangement violated the right to due process, since the judge (or mayor) had a financial incentive to find people guilty. So, why is civil asset forfeiture still legal? With some luck, it might not remain that way. Last week, a federal judge refused to dismiss what could turn out to be an important civil asset forfeiture lawsuit. (Read more)
Yelling “wolf” in a crowded theater (aka: free speech)
Nancy Pelosi has been trying to argue that the National Park Service should deny a permit for an alleged “alt-right” group called Patriot Prayer to demonstrate on Park Service land. In a recent interview on the issue, she was asked about the group’s free speech rights, to which she responded “The Constitution does not say that a person can yell wolf in a crowded theater.” Aside from getting the saying completely wrong, her bow-wow “legal” analysis is also completely off-base. (Read more)
National Employee Freedom Week
More than 7 in 10 union members support the idea of subjecting their union to regular recertification votes, according to a study conducted for National Employee Freedom Week this year. The week, which ends on Saturday, is a national campaign that aims to educate workers, policymakers and the media on labor reform efforts. Started by NPRI five years ago, it began as a little project here in Clark County, Nevada, where NPRI let local teachers know they can opt-out of their teacher’s union if they wanted to. Since then, “it’s really blown up into this national movement.” (Read more)