Judge dismisses Nevada electors lawsuit due to incorrect venue
A Nevada judge dismissed a case against six defendants accused of falsely representing themselves as state electors after Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat. The dismissal by Judge Mary Kay Holthus in Clark County was based on a lack of jurisdiction; the case was filed in an inappropriate county, according to the judge. The Nevada attorney general, a Democrat, filed the charges in Clark County, but the alleged activities occurred in Carson City or Douglas County, which the defense argued were the proper venues. While the current ruling prevents re-filing of charges in another jurisdiction due to statutes of limitations, the Nevada Attorney General’s office plans to challenge the dismissal.
A judge in Nevada dismissed a case Friday involving six defendants who faced charges of illegally claiming they were the state’s electors in the wake of former President Donald Trump‘s defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
Judge Mary Kay Holthus of Clark County said at a hearing that the Nevada attorney general, a Democrat, filed the charges in a county that lacked jurisdiction over the case, according to the website the Nevada Independent.
“You have literally, in my opinion, a crime that has occurred in another jurisdiction,” Holthus said. “It’s so appropriately up north and so appropriately not here.”
The defendants’ attorneys argued the charges should be dropped, claiming that other venues, such as Carson City or Douglas County, were more appropriate because activities cited in the indictment had taken place in those locations.
While statutes of limitations prevent the state from being able to bring charges again in a different jurisdiction, a spokesman for Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that his office will challenge Holthus’s ruling.
“We disagree with the judge’s decision and will be appealing immediately,” the spokesman said.
The six defendants charged included Michael McDonald, Nevada GOP chairman and a loyal supporter of Trump since 2015. The other five defendants were Jesse Law, Jim DeGraffenreid, Durward James Hindle III, Shawn Meehan, and Eileen Rice.
Ford opted to bring the charges last December in one of the bluest counties in the state, which could have led to the court selecting jurors from a pool containing more Democrats.
“When the efforts to undermine faith in our democracy began after the 2020 election, I made it clear that I would do everything in my power to defend the institutions of our nation and our state,” Ford said in a statement at the time.
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Nevada is the first battleground state to dismiss a case related to alternate electors. Similar cases are playing out in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wrapped Trump into the election-related charges against 19 defendants in Georgia, but the case is stalled indefinitely while an appellate court reviews Trump’s argument that Willis should be disqualified over a conflict of interest.
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