Nevada Supreme Court delays Clark County coroner’s inquest

The first coroner's inquest in more than 18 months has been delayed again, this time by the Nevada Supreme Court.

In an order issued Wednesday , the high court granted an emergency motion by Highway Patrol troopers to put off today's hearing into the death of Eduardo Lopez-Hernandez.

Three Supreme Court justices granted the temporary postponement through May 11. The full court of seven justices will meet before then to decide whether to extend the delay until the troopers' appeal can be heard.

In the order, the court set an expedited schedule that moved up the legal briefing deadlines on the appeal by about two months. The final deadline under the new schedule is May 31.

"It is apparent by the Court's order today that there are serious constitutional issues at play and that they need to be considered in a deliberative fashion," Joshua Reisman, the troopers' lawyer, said in a news release.

He also noted that the Supreme Court's actions in this case are "often limited to proceedings that involve a substantial precedential, constitutional or public policy issue."

Reisman, who represents three Las Vegas police officers in another inquest challenge case, has argued that the revamped inquest's new procedures, including the use of an ombudsman to represent the dead person's family, violate the officers' constitutional rights.

The officers believe the new system acts more like a criminal hearing than a fact-finding one and puts them on trial without typical constitutional protections.

If the inquest goes forward as designed, the troopers planned to refuse to testify under their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

Maggie McLetchie, a lawyer who sat on the special committee that crafted the new inquest rules, said she was disappointed by the new delay but was confident the new system would withstand the legal challenges against it.

Led by the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, which represents 2,400 rank-and-file Las Vegas officers, the region's police unions have opposed the revamped inquest format, which was changed by the Clark County Commission in late 2010 after two controversial police shootings.

The Police Protective Association has backed both legal challenges against the inquest.

An inquest into the death of Lopez-Hernandez originally was set for September but was postponed by the troopers' legal challenge.

Lopez-Hernandez died in August 2010 during a drawn-out fight and struggle with Highway Patrol troopers on U.S. Highway 95. During their struggle to get the erratically behaving 21-year-old into custody, troopers shocked him multiple times with a Taser stun gun.

Taser records showed the weapon was used 19 times.

The trooper's arguments were dismissed by District Judge Joanna Kishner late last year, and they appealed to the Supreme Court.

The case involving three Las Vegas police officers was moved to federal court, where U.S. District Judge Philip Pro ruled against them. That case is under appeal at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The coroner's office has 19 cases waiting to go to inquest.

Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281.