Court Information
The Incline Village - Crystal Bay Justice Court is a court of limited jurisdiction. The court is divided into three (3) main areas: the Citation Division, the Civil Division and the Criminal Division. The Court also handles Evictions and Protection Orders.
The Citation Division deals with all citations issued in the Incline Village - Crystal Bay Township including, but not limited to, those issued by the Washoe County Sheriff's Office, the Nevada Highway Patrol, the State of Nevada Parks Department, Washoe County School District, the State Contractor's Board and Washoe County Animal Control. If you have been instructed to come to Court to pay the fine on your citation without seeing a judge, your case has more than likely been directed to the Citation Division. Pursuant to AB 116, certain citations are now issued as Civil Infractions while others remain as Criminal Offenses. If you have an appearance date on your citation, it is likely a criminal matter.
The Civil Division is divided into two primary (2) areas: Civil Actions and Small Claims. Civil actions presently have a monetary limit of $15,000.00. Small Claims actions have a monetary limit of $10,000.00 and are conducted more informally and generally without attorneys present.
The Criminal Division deals with cases which are being prosecuted by the Washoe County District Attorney's Office (or the State of Nevada Attorney General`s Office in certain cases). All criminal proceedings in the Incline Village - Crystal Bay Township, whether misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor or felony cases, originate in Incline Justice Court. A preliminary examination is held in gross misdemeanor and felony cases and, should the Judge make a finding of probable cause, the case is forwarded to the Second Judicial District Court for adjudication. Incline Justice Court is the trial court in misdemeanor cases.
Evictions deal with landlord-tenant disputes. In these matters, the landlord typically seeks to have the tenant removed from the property and to retake possession thereof. An eviction proceeding does not deal with any monetary damages or counterclaims but only who has possessory rights to the property.
Protection Orders can be requested through the Justice Court for Stalking/Harassment. Protection Orders for Domestic Violence are not handled by the Justice Court. For information on a Protection Order for Domestic Violence in Washoe County, please visit the Second Judicial District Court.