District Court Judge Douglas Herndon approved a temporary restraining order this morning in the case, Fame Operating Co. v. George J. Chanos, that will delay enactment of Nevada’s anti-smoking initiative for at least two weeks in Clark County. In making his ruling, Judge Herndon indicated this was not a judicial challenge to the outcome of the election, but an opportunity to allow the plaintiffs to question the constitutionality of the law and seek judicial help in implementing the law based on the process provided by Nevada’s Constitution.
The judge’s ruling affects only those plaintiffs and defendants named in the lawsuit, effectively preventing law enforcement agencies in Clark County from enforcing the law against the plaintiffs named in the complaint. The temporary restraining order has no effect on businesses or law enforcement agencies in other Nevada counties. The law statewide goes into effect Dec. 8.
A Dec. 19 hearing date has been set for arguments regarding the plaintiffs challenge to the anti-smoking law.
#1 by andy stites - December 7th, 2006 at 21:15
hello , I think Judge Herndon is just giving in to the connivence stores and bar owners, he seems to have forgot that THIS WAS VOTED IN BY VOTERS! I went to the polls and voted yes for question 5, so did a majority of nevada voters, I think Judge Herndon should be punished in some way for this ruling, he went against the will of the people. well if the majority voted for question 5 the majority can vote against Judge Herndon in the next election
#2 by Michael H. Cox - December 8th, 2006 at 17:13
“If Judge Herndon decides that HE needs to prohibit this act from going in effect, then I think that we Nevadans need to hold a recall election on him.”
- http://www.mikesworld.org/?view=plink&id=210
#3 by Jean Norman - December 11th, 2006 at 20:41
Hi Michael,
Why don’t you guys link a copy of the complaint and judgment to the blog? That would save you lots of time fielding calls from people who want to see what the lawyer/judges said.
Jean