Courts across Nevada failed to send almost 2,000 guardianship cases involving those with mental illnesses to a database of people who are not allowed to have firearms, according to the final report on a statewide audit sparked by a Reno Gazette-Journal investigation. Nevada courts are required by law to send guardianship records to the Department of Public Safety so they can be added to the National Instant Background Check System, used during gun sales.
In response to the RGJ report, initially published in August, the chief justice of the Nevada Supreme Court ordered a statewide review. Nevada Court Administrator Robin Sweet said last week that she has received the final tally on missed guardianship cases from across the state: 1,945 cases had been missed. They included updated Washoe District Court records and reports from Carson City and Clark, Churchill and Lyon counties. Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said she's working with the courts to make sure the mistakes don't happen again.