Nevada family-law case summaries

Tina Rohmiller tried to appeal an order that she said labeled her a "vexatious litigant" — a designation courts sometimes apply to a person to place limits on their ability to keep filing lawsuits or motions. She represented herself in the appeal. The Nevada Supreme Court did not decide whether she actually is a vexatious litigant or whether any restrictions were fair. Instead, it looked at whether it had the power (called "jurisdiction") to hear the appeal at all, and concluded that it did not. The court gave two reasons. First, it found that there did not appear to be a written order from the district court actually declaring her a vexatious litigant — and appeals generally run from written judgments or orders. Second, and more importantly, the court explained that even if such an order existed, no statute or court rule allows a person to appeal a vexatious-litigant order directly. The court noted that the proper way to ask a higher court to review that kind of order is through a different procedure called a writ — a separate type of request to the court — rather than an ordinary appeal. Because it lacked jurisdiction, the court dismissed the appeal.