Misdemeanor Clinic

The Misdemeanor Clinic in the Thomas and Mack Legal Clinic represents people charged with misdemeanors and traffic offenses who do not qualify for public defenders. To find out if you qualify for a public defender, go to the Clark County Public Defender website.

In the Misdemeanor Clinic, professors who are experienced criminal defense attorneys, supervise student attorneys handling misdemeanor cases from charging through trial and sentencing.

Looking up your case and finding your new court date

Particularly during the Covid-19 crisis, court dates for misdemeanor and traffic cases have been postponed. To make matters more difficult, Clark County has both Municipal and Justice Courts. Watch this video to learn how to look up your case and find your next court date.

Fines and fees

We represent defendants facing fines, fees and court-ordered programs. We recognize what a struggle it can be to owe money for fines and fees and court-required programs. Fines and fees force families to divert needed household funds to the courts, and failure to pay can lead to bench warrants and jail time.

For more information on fines and fees, visit The Fines & Fees Justice Center.

Resources

UNLV law students have prepared the following resources.

How to Clear a Bench Warrant

This video provides basic information on how to clear your traffic or misdemeanor bench warrant in the Las Vegas Justice Court. Please note that it is easier to clear your warrant during the Covid-19 crisis. Watch the video to find out how.

Covid-19 Best Practices for Courts, Attorneys, and Jails

Clinic students and Clark County Public Defender extern students looked nationwide to determine the current best practices for police, prosecutors, jails and courts during the Covid-19 crisis. Read the Covid-19 Best Practices.

Stop! Before you plead...

Did you know that pleading "no contest" or "guilty" to a misdemeanor can affect your work, benefits, school aid, and immigration status? Find out before you resolve your case. Contact an attorney, or contact the Misdemeanor Clinic at (702) 895-2080.

In the news

Student Lawyer Fights to Diminish Might of Misdemeanors
Voice of America
Voice of America shines a light on Azra Ozdemir and her work in the Misdemeanor Clinic.
UNLV law students get chance to help those burdened by misdemeanor cases
Las Vegas SUN
The Misdemeanor Clinic featured on the front page of the Las Vegas SUN.
After decriminalization of traffic offenses, jaywalking, advocates push to reform vast misdemeanor system
The Nevada Independent
Prof. Eve Hanan discusses the harm of misdemeanors and the Misdemeanor Clinic's push for criminal reform in the Nevada Independent.
Why Misdemeanors Matter: How Petty Offenses Trap Millions in the System
The Mob Museum
Prof. Eve Hanan, Co-Director of the Misdemeanor Clinic, spoke at a Mob Museum panel discussing the new documentary, Racially Charged, which examines how misdemeanors serve as an engine for racially discriminatory policing and criminal justice debt.
In Nevada, drivers can be arrested for unpaid tickets. Activists are fighting to change that.
NBC News
The work of student attorneys in the Misdemeanor Clinic brings a national spotlight to the devastating impact of traffic fines and fees in Nevada.
Costs and Consequences of Traffic Fines and Fees in Nevada

Professor Barb Brents and PhD candidates in UNLV's Department of Sociology collaborated with NYU's Public Safety Lab to create this report on criminal fines and fees in Nevada.
A Pathway to Justice
UNLV Law Magazine
A profile of the Misdemeanor Clinic in the 2019 UNLV Law Magazine.
It's time to release some inmates to reduce the coronavirus risk in prisons
The Nevada Independent
Prof. Hanan wrote an op-ed urging release of prisoners to slow the spread of Covid-19 in Nevada’s prisons.

Faculty

Prof. Eve Hanan

Professor Eve Hanan has been committed to criminal defense work since she was a student attorney in her law school’s clinic where she worked to overturn a death penalty conviction. As a defense attorney, she tried felony cases in Boston and argued appellate cases for the D.C. Public Defender Service. Later, she provided statewide forensic and strategic litigation support to public defenders at the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. Hanan began teaching law school clinical courses at the University of Baltimore School of Law. There, she helped to develop a clinic to provide legal representation for people sentenced to decades in prison for crimes committed when they were kids. She is also a restorative justice facilitator and a trained therapist.
Prof. Anne Traum

Professor Anne Traum has deep experience in civil and criminal law at the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts. She draws on this experience and works closely with courts to expand access to justice for indigent people and underserved communities. She joined the Boyd School of Law in 2008 after serving as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice (1998-2002) and an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Nevada (2002-2008). At UNLV, she founded the Appellate Clinic and teaches a course that partners with Nevada lawyers to represent clients in the Nevada Appellate Pro Bono Program, which she helped create. She serves on numerous state and federal committees to improve access to justice and indigent defense. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.