Specialty Courts

Felony DUI Court Overview

Court Judge

Honorable Kathleen Sigurdson

Manager
Brooke Howard

Hours of Operation
Monday - Thursday: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Hearings
Tuesday: 9:00 a.m.

Court Description: In 2007, the Nevada Legislature created the Felony Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Court. In 2008, this Court began in the Second Judicial District Court with a goal to rehabilitate third-time Felony DUI offenders through community-based treatment and intensive supervision. Under the state statute, participants in DUI Court must plead guilty to a third DUI offense, but they are not sentenced until they complete or fail to complete the Court's program. The offender agrees to undergo a three to five-year mandatory treatment program, including participating for six months in a residential treatment facility, or house arrest, or other court approved monitoring. The offender also agrees to pay and to install an ignition interlock on all their vehicles to prevent them from being driven, if any alcohol is detected in the offender's breath. Each participant must pay about $15,000-$20,000 over three years for the cost of the treatment and the ignition locks.

During those three to five years, participants come to Court weekly to discuss their progress. A participant's case management is provided by a team consisting of the judge, defense counsel and prosecutor, treatment providers, court personnel, parole and probation officers, and drug testing staff.

If the participant successfully completes the program, he or she is sentenced to a second DUI offense. If a participant fails to complete the program, they are sentenced to a third Felony DUI offense which results in a prison sentence.

Accessible Services and Support: The DUI Court values a holistic approach to help the participants pursue and stop the cycle of substance use and drunk driving. The DUI Court partners with local providers specializing in certain areas of expertise, such as, substance and alcohol use counseling, case management, drug and alcohol testing, and referrals to vocational and academic programs.

The mission of the Second Judicial District Court's Specialty Courts is to improve quality of life, reduce recidivism, and increase community safety and awareness by engaging the drug and alcohol abusing defendant, or the defendant with a mental health illness, in an intensive, court supervised, treatment program. A multidisciplinary team of a judge, defense and prosecution counsel, court officers, treatment providers, parole and probation officers, and drug testing staff work with the defendant.