In 2025, without authorization from the Nevada Legislature, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) entered into an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that purports to let LVMPD assist with federal immigration enforcement. This “287(g) agreement” provides that, at ICE’s request, LVMPD will continue detaining a person after they are supposed to be released from criminal custody to make it easier for ICE to pick them up. That is exactly what happened to Sergio Morais-Hechavarria: although a court had ordered him to be released to an inpatient treatment program, LVMPD continued detaining him for another two months at ICE’s behest. Mr. Morais-Hechavarria and the ACLU of Nevada filed a lawsuit challenging LVMPD’s authority to enter into the 287(g) agreement and to detain people for ICE after their criminal custody ends. The district court dismissed the case, and the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative and ACLU of Nevada have appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court.

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) sued Nevada demanding the release of its full, unredacted voter file, which includes the highly sensitive and personal data of every voter in the state. This suit appears to be part of DOJ’s effort to build a national voter database without congressional authorization, improperly question the validity of state voter rolls, and intimidate eligible voters in Nevada and around the country.

This case presents the question of whether the execution of a capital defendant with serious mental illness violates Article I, section 6 of the Nevada Constitution, which prohibits cruel or unusual punishment. The ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project and State Supreme Court Initiative, along with the ACLU of Nevada, filed an amicus brief arguing that a plain reading of Article I, section 6 of the Nevada Constitution provides broader protections than the Eighth Amendment and should be interpreted to establish a categorical exemption from execution for this population.