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Estate of Lacy Lloyd Thomas, et al. v. Clark County Nevada, et al. — 9th Cir. (argued August 14, 2026)

No. 25-3382 Argued August 14, 2026 Published August 15, 2026; updated August 18, 2026

The Ninth Circuit hears the Estate of Lacy Lloyd Thomas's civil-rights appeal against Clark County and former prosecutor Scott Mitchell. Thomas's criminal trial ended in a mistrial after records favorable to the defense surfaced. The Nevada Supreme Court later found that prosecutors intentionally withheld those records and barred another trial. In the federal suit that followed, one judge dismissed the claim against Mitchell on absolute-immunity grounds, and another entered summary judgment for the county on a failure-to-train claim. The estate asks to revive both claims. Mitchell and Clark County say the challenged acts were protected advocacy and the county had no warning that more training was needed.

Estate of Lacy Lloyd Thomas, et al. v. Clark County Nevada, et al. (No. 25-3382) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued August 14, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/media/2026/08/14/25-3382.mp3
Argument listing — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cases/streams-videos/archive?case=25-3382&hearingDate=2026-08-14
Nevada Supreme Court opinion — Justia mirror:https://law.justia.com/cases/nevada/supreme-court/2017/69074.html
Underlying argument record — Nevada Supreme Court, docket 69074:https://nvcourts.gov/supreme/arguments/recordings/thomas_lacy_vs_dist_ct_state
Order deferring costs during the pending appeal — Justia mirror:https://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/nevada/nvdce/2%3A2018cv01615/132662/112/0.pdf
Appellate docket and counsel record — Justia:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca9/25-3382
Prosecutorial-immunity standard — Ninth Circuit, Patterson v. Van Arsdel:https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2018/02/23/15-35838.pdf
Municipal failure-to-train standard — Connick v. Thompson:https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USREPORTS-563/USREPORTS-563-51
Ninth Circuit municipal-liability standard — Kirkpatrick v. County of Washoe:https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2016/12/09/12-15080.pdf
Counsel profile — Ravi Chanderraj, Paul Padda Law:https://paulpaddalaw.com/recovery-team/ravi-chanderraj/
Counsel record — Ravi Chanderraj, Paul Padda Law:https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/nevada/nvdce/2%3A2025cv02392/178310/10
Counsel profile — Thomas D. Dillard, Jr., Olson Cannon & Gormley:https://www.lawyers.com/las-vegas/nevada/thomas-dillard-jr-2555535-a/
Counsel record — Thomas D. Dillard, Jr., Olson Cannon Gormley Angulo & Stoberski:https://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/nevada/nvdce/2%3A2012cv01710/90283/68/0.pdf

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