A legislative subcommittee will support having Nevada business court judges publish decisions instead of pushing for a new chancery court.
"Nobody convinced me of the need to have a specific, constitutionally recognized chancery court," said state Sen. Terry Care, D-Las Vegas, a member of the subcommittee that looked at the Legislature's role in establishing a separate court. "We've got a business court system that seems to be working just fine picking up case load."
Care said only three states, Tennessee, Mississippi and Delaware, have chancery courts to handle business equity disputes. A constitutional amendment would be required to establish such a court in Nevada.
The subcommittee submitted a bill request for the 2009 Legislature, which opens Monday, that "provides for the publication of business court opinions under certain circumstances."
The state Supreme Court is seeking the funding for the cost of writing and publishing the opinions. The funding would probably have to come through increased filing fees or other charges through the court, Care said.
The business court system was established in October 2006 when the Supreme Court ordered district courts in Clark and Washoe counties to appoint judges to handle business cases.
The subcommittee also supported a plan for an intermediate appeals court in Nevada. The resolution would go before the voters in 2010 if adopted.
The appellate court plan has come up repeatedly in the Legislature over the past 30 years, and made it to the ballot twice -- in 1980 and again in 1992 -- only to be rejected by voters.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
