In Nevada, a crime becomes a hate crime when the victim is targeted because of their race, color, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. In 2023 alone, 116 hate crime incidents were reported in Nevada.
An example of a hate crime is beating up someone for being homosexual. Even if the victim was not actually gay, the battery is still considered a hate crime as long as you believed the victim was gay and inflicted the harm because of anti-gay sentiment.1
Hate crimes are not charged as separate offenses in Nevada. Instead, the sentence for the underlying crime is increased.
In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys will address the following key issues regarding hate crimes:
- 1. Penalties
- 2. Defenses
- 3. Federal Law
- 4. Gun Rights
- 5. Common Hate Crimes
- 6. Reporting Hate Crimes
- Frequently-Asked-Questions
- Additional Resources
Nevada hate crimes are a sentencing enhancement, not an additional charge.
1. Penalties
Nevada misdemeanors that are committed as hate crimes are instead charged as gross misdemeanors. Gross misdemeanor penalties, which are simply twice that of misdemeanor penalties, include:
- Up to 364 days in jail and/or
- Up to $2,000 in fines.2
Meanwhile, felonies and gross misdemeanors committed as hate crimes carry an additional sentence of one to 20 years in Nevada State Prison. However, this enhancement may not exceed the length of the sentence for the underlying crime.
Example: Jeff receives a 15-year prison sentence for burning down a black man’s house and a 15-year prison enhancement since it was a hate crime. The judge may not impose an enhancement longer than 15 years because the underlying sentence was only 15 years.
In determining the length of the additional hate crime sentence for gross misdemeanors and felonies, Nevada judges consider the following five factors:
- The facts and circumstances of the crime;
- Your criminal history;
- The impact of the crime on any victim;
- Any mitigating factors you present; and
- Any other relevant information.3
Note that first-degree murder committed as a hate crime can potentially carry the death penalty.4
2. Defenses
In our experience at Las Vegas Defense Group, the most effective way to fight hate crime allegations is to defend against the underlying criminal charge. If the underlying charge gets dropped, the hate crime enhancement becomes moot.
Depending on the case, common defenses that could get a criminal case dismissed include:
- Self-defense,
- Accident,
- Mistaken identity,
- False accusations, and/or
- Police department misconduct.
Even if the underlying criminal charge stands, it still may be possible to get the hate crime enhancement dismissed. That way, you would not face an additional penalty.
The most common defense to hate crime allegations is that you did not commit the crime out of bias.
Example: Jeremy is arrested for a hate crime after pick-pocketing Henry, who is in a wheelchair. Jeremy could be convicted of theft but not with the hate crime enhancement as long as the district attorney cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jeremy’s motivations were based on prejudice (and not just because Henry was an easy target).5
Another potential defense against certain hate crime allegations is that your conduct was protected free speech and free expression under the First Amendment.6
Pre-File Interventions
The time between a police investigation and the formal filing of charges is a critical window of opportunity. If you are aware that you are under investigation for a hate crime, hiring an experienced criminal defense attorney immediately is one of the most important steps you can take.
During the pre-file stage, your attorneys can:
- Contact the lead detectives and prosecutors right away to tell them you are exercising your Fifth Amendment rights to remain silent;
- Conduct an independent investigation, which may result in finding evidence and witnesses favorable to your defense; and
- Present this favorable evidence to the prosecutors, which may cause them to decide against bringing the case at all.
Nevada hate crime laws are broader in scope than federal hate crime laws.
3. Federal Law
Like Nevada’s hate crime law, the federal hate crime law criminalizes harming others because of their race, color, religion, national origin/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender/gender identity, or disability. Unlike Nevada law, federal law limits the scope of hate crimes to violent crimes. It specifically prohibits:
- Willfully causing bodily injury to any person, or
- Attempting to cause bodily injury to any person through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device.
The typical penalty is a fine and/or up to 10 years in Federal Prison. However, the maximum prison sentence becomes life in prison if either:
- Death results,
- The offense includes kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap,
- The offense includes aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or
- The offense includes an attempt to kill.7
4. Gun Rights
Any Nevada conviction for a felony, domestic violence, or stalking will result in a loss of gun rights whether or not it was a hate crime. The only way to get your gun rights restored is a pardon.8
Misdemeanors committed as hate crimes are prosecuted as gross misdemeanors.
5. Common Hate Crimes
Ten of the most common felony or gross misdemeanor hate crimes are:
- murder (NRS 200.030)
- assault with a deadly weapon (NRS 200.471(2)(b))
- battery (NRS 200.481)
- involuntary servitude (NRS 200.463 – 465)
- burglary (NRS 205.060)
- theft (NRS 205.0832)
- grand larceny (NRS 205.220)
- robbery (NRS 200.380)
- graffiti (NRS 206.330)
- arson (NRS 205.010 – 025)9
Ten of the most common misdemeanor hate crimes are:
- assault (NRS 200.471)
- battery (NRS 200.481)
- harassment (NRS 200.571)
- stalking (NRS 200.575)
- threatening or obscene letters or writing (NRS 207.180)
- petit larceny (NRS 205.240)
- disturbing a meeting (NRS 203.090)
- breach of peace (NRS 203.010)
- injury to another’s property (NRS 206.310)
- graffiti (NRS 206.330)10
6. Reporting Hate Crimes
Victims or witnesses of hate crimes can report it by calling the local police or 911. Then contact the FBI:
- Online (tips.FBI.gov),
- By phone at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or
- In person at an FBI field office.
A defense to hate crime charges is that the victim’s protected characteristic was not a factor.
Frequently-Asked-Questions
What makes a crime qualify as a hate crime in Nevada?
A crime becomes a hate crime when the victim is targeted specifically because of their race, color, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity/expression. The crime must be motivated by bias against these protected characteristics.
How do hate crime penalties work in Nevada?
Hate crimes are not separate charges but act as sentence enhancements. Misdemeanors become gross misdemeanors with up to 364 days in jail and $2,000 in fines. For felonies and gross misdemeanors, an additional 1 to 20 years in prison may be added, but cannot exceed the sentence of the underlying crime.
How can I report a hate crime in Nevada?
You can report a hate crime by calling local police or 911 first, then contacting the FBI through their website (tips.FBI.gov), phone number (1-800-CALL-FBI), or visiting an FBI field office in person.
Additional Resources
If you are the victim of a hate crime, you can find help at the following:
- Victim Connect Resource Center – A confidential referral helpline for all victims of crime to learn about their rights and options.
- Matthew Shepard Foundation – An organization that works to erase hate by amplifying the story of Matthew Shepard to inspire understanding, compassion, and acceptance.
- Human Rights Campaign – America’s largest civil rights organization dedicated to achieving equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people.
- Safe Horizon – An organization that provides support, prevents violence, and promotes justice for victims of crime and abuse and their families.
Legal References
- NRS 207.185; NRS 193.1675 (“This section does not create a separate offense but provides an additional penalty for the primary offense, whose imposition is contingent upon the finding of the prescribed fact.”). See, for example, David Ferrara and Glenn Puit, Prosecutors ponder hate-crime charges in Henderson shooting spree, Las Vegas Review-Journal (December 1, 2020) and Associated Press, Terror, Hate-Crime Counts Mulled in Vegas in 2-State Rampage, US News (December 1, 2020) (re. alleged shootings by Texas residents Shawn McDonnell, Christopher McDonnell and Kayleigh Lewis alleged on Thanksgiving Day in Henderson – according to Michael Schwartzer, a chief deputy Clark County district attorney – as well as a police chase involving the Arizona Department of Public Safety in La Paz County and shootings in Parker, AZ). See also Mickelson v. State (Nev. 2020) ; McNamara v. State (Nev. 2016) 377 P.3d 106. See also NRS 193.130; NRS 193.140; NRS 193.150. Hate Crimes, Nevada Department of Justice.
- NRS 207.185.
- NRS 193.1675.
- NRS 200.030.
- See, for example, Abrego v. State, (2002) 118 Nev. 54, 38 P.3d 868.
- See Virginia v. Black, (2002) 538 U.S. 343, 123 S. Ct. 1536; see Matal v. Tam, (United States Supreme Court, 2017) 137 S. Ct. 1744, 198 L. Ed. 2d 366.
- 18 USC 249; The Matthew Shepard And James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act Of 2009. These cases are prosecuted by the Civil Rights Division.
- NRS 202.360. 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33).
- NRS 193.1675. Other felony or gross misdemeanor hate crimes in Nevada are burglary with explosives (NRS 205.075), battery with intent to commit a crime (NRS 200.400), invasion of the home (NRS 205.067), voluntary manslaughter (NRS 200.050), sexual assault (NRS 200.366), kidnapping (NRS 200.310), false imprisonment (NRS 200.460), stalking (NRS 200.575) – if the victim is under 16, and the defendant is at least 5 years older, killing, maiming, disfiguring or poisoning animal of another person; killing estray or livestock (NRS 206.150), grand larceny of a firearm (NRS 205.226), or grand larceny of a motor vehicle (NRS 205.228), larceny from a person (NRS 205.270), elder abuse (NRS 200.5099), mayhem (NRS 200.280), child abuse (NRS 200.508), and coercion (NRS 207.190).
- NRS 207.185. Other misdemeanor hate crimes in Nevada are elder abuse (NRS 200.5099), unlawful taking of vehicle; interference (NRS 205.2715), theft (NRS 205.0832), trespass (NRS 207.200), destruction of signs or notices forbidding trespass (NRS 207.210) or unlawful posting of bills, signs or posters (NRS 206.200), forcible entry and detainer (NRS 203.110) or entering property with intention to damage or destroy property (NRS 206.040), destruction or damage of property by unlawful assembly (NRS 206.010), damage of property used for purpose of religion, for burial or memorializing of dead, for education, as transportation facility, as public transportation vehicle or as community center; damage of personal property contained therein (NRS 206.125), nuisance in building; trespass upon grounds; disturbing assembly (NRS 206.140), provoking commission of breach of peace (NRS 203.030), assembling to disturb peace (NRS 203.020), unlawful assembly (NRS 203.060), armed association (NRS 203.080), offenses in public conveyances (NRS 203.100), and commission of act in public building or area interfering with peaceful conduct of activities (NRS 203.119).