Forfeiture and Restoration of Credits

NRS 209.451 – Overview of the Policies Related to Forfeiture and Restoration of Credits

Nevada Revised Statutes sections 209.432 to 209.451 provide a variety of ways for incarcerated offenders to receive credit toward their terms of imprisonment for “good behavior” and things like diligence in labor and study, achieving educational credits, exceptional meritorious service, or participation in treatment programs, among other things.  Offenders are limited in the amount of credit they can receive toward their sentence, and their credits are subject to forfeiture in certain circumstances.  In certain situations, forfeited credits can be restored.

Nev. Rev. Stat. § 209.451 governs the forfeiture and restoration of credits toward terms of imprisonment.  Credits can be forfeited in the following situations:

• Commission of an assault upon the offender’s keeper or a foreman, officer, offender or other person, or otherwise endangers life
• Flagrant disregard or serious violation of Department regulations or the terms and conditions of residential confinement
• Commission of a misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor or felony; or in a civil action, in state or federal court, is found to have presented a pleading, written motion, or other document to the court that is improper in some way. The exact statutory language regarding such improper documents is documented in Rev. Stat. § 209.451 subsection 1(d) which states:

(d) In a civil action, in state or federal court, is found by the court to have presented a pleading, written motion or other document in writing to the court which:

(1) Contains a claim or defense that is included for an improper purpose, including, without limitation, for the purpose of harassing the offender’s opponent, causing unnecessary delay in the litigation or increasing the cost of the litigation;

(2) Contains a claim, defense or other argument which is not warranted by existing law or by a reasonable argument for a change in existing law or a change in the interpretation of existing law; or

(3) Contains allegations or information presented as fact for which evidentiary support is not available or is not likely to be discovered after further investigation,

• Violation of subsection 4 of Rev. Stat. § 209.367. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 209.367 governs the testing of offenders for use of alcohol and controlled substances.  The statutory language of subsection 4 of Nev. Rev. Stat. § 209.367 states:

4.  The Department may sanction, pursuant to subsection 5, an offender:

(a) Who refuses or fails to submit to a test;

(b) Whose test detects alcohol or a controlled substance;

(c) Who manufactures, possesses, uses, sells, supplies, provides, distributes, conceals or stores alcohol or a controlled substance; or

(d) Who attempts to manufacture, possess, use, sell, supply, provide, distribute, conceal or store alcohol or a controlled substance.

If an offender is found to have committed one of these infractions, the offender forfeits all deductions of time earned before commission of the offense or act, or forfeits such part of those deductions as the Director considers just.  The Director may only forfeit an offender’s credits toward the offender’s term of imprisonment if there is proof that an act prohibited by Nev. Rev. Stat. § 209.451 was committed and after providing notice to the offender.  Once the Director makes a decision to forfeit an offender’s credits, the decision is final.

If the Director considers it proper, the Director may later restore credits that were previously forfeited.