Attorneys ask Nevada Supreme Court for ruling on ‘Las Vegas Law’

Defense lawyers who want to block Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson’s television show “Las Vegas Law” from filming a murder trial took their argument to the Nevada Supreme Court on Monday.

District Judge Valerie Adair ruled that the so-called “docudrama,” depicting prosecutors as “superheroes,” should be treated no differently than any other news entity when it comes to filming in court.

Within hours of the judge’s ruling, lawyers from the special public defender’s office appealed to the high court. They wrote that Adair “provided no analysis supporting” the conclusion that My Entertainment TV, which recently got the OK for a second season on Investigation Discovery, is a news organization.

“First, and most obvious, is its name. The company is not called ‘My News’ or ‘My Media,’” defense attorneys JoNell Thomas and Robert Arroyo wrote. “It defines itself as ‘My Entertainment,’ and its title should be believed.”

Adair’s order stated that defense attorneys who had an issue with their witnesses being filmed could request that the production company turn their cameras away.

In a series of guidelines on electronic coverage of court hearings, the state’s high court defines news reporters as “any person who gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, or publishes news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public.”

Adair, who said last week that she had not seen the show about the district attorney’s office, ruled that the docudrama crew would have “no greater impact” than other camera crews, and all must adhere to the same rules.

No cameras were present Monday, as jury selection began in the high-profile murder and robbery case against Michael Solid, now 24. Opening statements are expected to start Wednesday morning, when Investigation Discovery crews and local media are expected to start filming.

Solid is accused in the slaying of a Las Vegas high school student who refused to give up his iPad on May 16, 2013.

Authorities said 15-year-old Marcos Vicente Arenas was pulled into the street and run over by a Ford Explorer speeding away after Solid and Jacob Dismont tried to steal the device a few blocks from Bonanza High School.

Dismont, now 21, pleaded guilty last week to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery and is awaiting sentencing scheduled for October.

On My Entertainment’s website, a tag line for “Las Vegas Law” describes unprecedented access to the gritty, dramatic and entertaining world of the ‘superheroes’ fighting crime in one of the wildest cities on the planet.”

Wolfson has an editorial say in the production, but crews follow prosecutors and defense lawyers around the courthouse without using a script or directorial control.

While the first six episodes that aired earlier this year drew criticism from some defense attorneys, Wolfson’s show was recently approved for a second season. One episode featured a trial in which a defendant was acquitted by a jury. Public Defender Phil Kohn has said that his office would not participate in season two because he thought prosecutors pushed cases to trial so camera crews could capture more footage.

Wolfson declined comment Monday.

Lisa Zastrow, a lawyer for the production company, argued last week that the show should be viewed as a news entity.

Solid’s attorneys also argued that the program “makes a mockery out of our criminal justice system” and “encourages” prosecutors to violate rules of professional conduct.

According to those rules, prosecutors must “refrain from making extrajudicial comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused.”

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.