Las Vegas votes to expand its downtown ‘order out corridor’

The so-called “order out corridor” in downtown Las Vegas is expanding to cover the area of the Plaza Hotel and the Main Street Station Casino parking lot, according to city officials.

The City Council on Wednesday approved to amend the ordinance designed to bar certain people convicted of misdemeanor crimes from stepping in and around the tourist areas in downtown and The Strat.

The change adds 29 acres to the north and west areas in downtown, the city said.

Council members did not discuss the agenda item publicly Wednesday before voting unanimously to approve the amendment.

Before the decision, Tia Smith, attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said the vote was “premature,” noting that the constitutionality of Clark County’s similar law is being challenged in the state’s Supreme Court.

“It is essential that any changes to the order out corridor are guided by the court’s forthcoming” ruling, Smith said. “Acting without this guidance could lead to actions that infringe upon the constitutional rights of your constituents, especially those already vulnerable to over policing and profiling.”

Las Vegas implemented the order-out ordinance in November with a coverage area of 173 acres between Stewart and Bridger avenues and Main and Eighth streets, and 67 acres surrounding The Strat.

The law allows Municipal Court judges to impose orders to keep a person away from those zones for up to a year in lieu of a jail sentence.

Authorities argued that the ordinance has been an effective crime-fighting tool, but opponents counter that such laws violate the First Amendment right to “access a traditional public forum,” according to a friend of the court brief co-signed by several organizations, including the Nevada American Civil Liberties Union, in the Clark County challenge.

A presentation before the Las Vegas City Council earlier this year showed that more than half of the offenders were determined to be homeless.

The ACLU alleges that the practice unjustly targets people in that demographic, as well as street performers and protesters, by giving police an excuse to “conduct stop-and-frisk searches.”

“By waiting for the court’s decision is not only prudent, but reflects the city’s commitment to upholding the rule of law,” Smith said Wednesday. “Proceeding with this proposal in the absence of judicial clarity would not be hasty, but would also be seen as dismissive of the significant legal issues currently being weighed by the court.”

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.