NRS 484A.7033 Authority of peace officer to detain, search or arrest person suspected of committing civil infraction; consolidation of civil infraction and criminal complaint.

434 words·~2 min read·/nv/chapter-484a-traffic-laws-generally/484a-7033·

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

1. Except as otherwise provided by law, a peace officer in this State who has reasonable cause to believe that a person has violated a provision of chapters 483 to 484E , inclusive, 486 or 490 of NRS that is a civil infraction may halt and detain the person as is reasonably necessary to investigate the alleged violation and issue a civil infraction citation for the alleged violation. A peace officer who has halted and detained a person pursuant to this section may also:

(a)Detain the person in accordance with NRS 171.123 if circumstances exist that warrant such a detention;

(b)Search the person to ascertain the presence of a weapon in accordance with NRS 171.1232 and take any other action authorized pursuant to that section or any other provision of law; and

(c)Arrest the person in accordance with NRS 171.1231 if probable cause for the arrest exists.

2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, if a person is arrested or cited for a misdemeanor offense arising from the same facts and circumstances as a violation for which a civil infraction citation is issued, the court may, upon motion of either party or on its own motion, consolidate the criminal complaint and the civil infraction at any stage of the proceedings. In a consolidated hearing:

(a)The rules governing the criminal complaint apply, except that the court must determine whether a civil infraction was committed based on a preponderance of the evidence, as provided in subsection 5 of NRS 484A.7041 .

(b)If the defendant is represented by an attorney appointed to provide indigent defense services for the criminal complaint, the hearing must be bifurcated, and the attorney for the defendant must not be required to represent the defendant during the portion of the hearing addressing the civil infraction.

3. If a misdemeanor offense and a civil infraction are included in the same criminal complaint or are consolidated pursuant to subsection 2, the court must consider the evidence and render judgment for both the misdemeanor offense and the civil infraction at the same hearing.

4. The provisions of subsection 2 that authorize the court to consolidate a misdemeanor offense and a civil infraction do not apply if the court has entered an order finding that the person committed the civil infraction pursuant to subsection 4 of NRS 484A.704 .

5. A consolidated hearing conducted pursuant to this section must be conducted by the court without a jury.