Practice Area - Post Conviction Litigation
Always the Final Word.
If you or someone you love has been convicted of a crime in Nevada, you may still have legal options. A rushed attorney, a prosecutor who withheld evidence, a jury instruction that misstated the law these are not minor technicalities. They are the reason people serve time they never should have served.
Post-Conviction Relief
in Nevada
A conviction is not always the end of the road. Post-conviction relief refers to the legal remedies available to a person after they have been convicted of a crime. Whether your case went to trial or you entered a guilty plea, there may be grounds to challenge your conviction, your sentence, or both. These are not easy cases but they are cases worth fighting.
Post-conviction work is personal. When a client has already lost when the jury came back with the wrong verdict, when the original attorney missed something critical, when the evidence was never fully presented — that is exactly when this work matters most.
Having handled hundreds of criminal cases across Northern Nevada from Elko County to Washoe County Kelsey has seen firsthand how things can go wrong at trial. She knows how the system works from the inside, and she knows where it fails people. That experience drives her post-conviction practice: a meticulous, compassionate approach to cases where something went wrong and someone is paying the price for it.
Deadlines Are Real
Post-conviction relief is governed by strict timelines. Waiting too long even by a matter of days can mean the permanent loss of your right to challenge a conviction. If you believe something went wrong in your case, please reach out as soon as possible.
Petition for Writ of
Habeas Corpus
The most common form of post-conviction relief in Nevada is the petition for writ of habeas corpus. The phrase “habeas corpus” is Latin for “you shall have the body” essentially, it is a demand that the government justify why it is holding someone in custody.
Unlike a direct appeal which focuses on errors that appear in the trial record a habeas corpus petition allows you to raise issues that may not have been visible during trial. This is critically important when the problem was not something the jury saw, but something that happened behind the scenes.
Common grounds for a Nevada habeas corpus petition include:
- Ineffective assistance of counsel — your trial attorney failed to adequately investigate, present evidence, or advise you of your rights
- Prosecutorial misconduct — the prosecution withheld evidence, presented false testimony, or otherwise acted improperly
- Newly discovered evidence — facts or evidence that did not exist or were not available at trial that could change the outcome
- Unconstitutional sentencing — your sentence violates constitutional protections or was improperly calculated
- Violations of your due process rights — coerced confessions, unlawful searches, or a fundamentally unfair trial
- Jurisdictional defects — the court or charging authority exceeded its legal power
One-Year Deadline
Under NRS 34.726, there is generally a one-year deadline to file a habeas corpus petition in Nevada. That clock typically starts running either when your judgment of conviction becomes final or when your direct appeal is resolved. Missing this deadline can permanently close the door on relief.
Direct Appeals
in Nevada
If your trial recently concluded, or if you are still within the timeframe to appeal, a direct appeal may be your first step. Nevada appeals are heard by either the Nevada Court of Appeals or the Nevada Supreme Court, depending on the nature of the case. A direct appeal allows you to argue that legal errors, incorrect jury instructions, improperly admitted evidence, insufficient evidence to support a conviction warrant a reversal or a new trial.
Kelsey’s years spent inside the public defender’s office handling cases across Northern Nevada give her an uncommon perspective. She has seen how appellate arguments are built and how they succeed. She brings that same thoroughness to every post-conviction case she takes on.
Factual Innocence
Petitions
Nevada also allows a separate petition for factual innocence under NRS 34.960, which permits a convicted person to present newly discovered evidence establishing that they did not commit the crime. If successful, the court can vacate the conviction and seal all records related to the case — a life-changing outcome for someone who has been wrongfully convicted.
Not every case has a path forward but the only way to know is to take a careful look at what happened. Kelsey offers consultations to evaluate your options honestly and directly. That is what she is here for.