North Las Vegas launching state’s first night court program

Nevada’s first night court program designed to make attending municipal court hearings easier will open for business next week in North Las Vegas.

The North Las Vegas Municipal court will hold sessions monthly for traffic offenses, starting on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Chris Lee, the municipal court’s chief judge, helped create the night court sessions as part of the city’s Community Approach to Rehabilitation and Engagement Court program, which offers diversionary programs focused on rehabilitation for people with low-level offenses, according to a news release.

“I’ve seen many people come into court who have had to take the day off to handle their ticket, or they bring their kids with them because they’d have to find child care during the day,” Lee said in the release. “Many are already struggling to pay traffic fines, which makes missing work to handle their tickets an extra burden. We are providing a better option for them.”

The municipal court plans to expand the number of session and types of offenses heard in night court based on demand, the release said.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.