By Alan Gutierrez | May 2025
David v. Goliath miracle! Nevada District Federal Court: unprecedented PRO SE (in propria persona) PLAINTIFF federal court VICTORY v. DEFENDANTS LVMPD et. al (individual officers) LECHNER V. LVMPD is now federal ‘case law to fortify 1st Amendment/4th Amendment/MONELL claim(((officers DID NOT HAVE ‘QUALIFIED IMMUNITY’)))
Federal Jury Finds Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Officers Violated Street Performer’s Constitutionally Protected Rights
Las Vegas, NV — After a seven-day trial in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, a federal jury returned a unanimous verdict on May 13, 2025, in favor of Plaintiff Gerald Lechner, finding that multiple officers of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), as well as the Department itself, violated Mr. Lechner’s constitutionally protected rights.
The case, Lechner v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, et al., Civil Case No. 2:19-cv-00638-RFB-MDC, was presided over by the Honorable Richard F. Boulware, II. Mr. Lechner, a longtime street performer, filed the civil rights lawsuit under Title 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging multiple instances of retaliation and unlawful police conduct between 2017 and 2018.
The jury found in Mr. Lechner’s favor on seven total claims and subclaims, including:
First Amendment Retaliation against Officers Christopher O’Connell, Clint Owensby, and Dillon Wedewer for incidents occurring on May 5, 2017, June 24, 2017, and February 3, 2018.
Unreasonable Seizure of Mr. Lechner’s person on February 3, 2018, by Officers Christopher O’Connell and Dillon Wedewer.
A systemic violation by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, which was found to have maintained an unconstitutional custom, practice, and policy of targeting street performers—specifically harassing, citing, and seizing them without probable cause on the Las Vegas Strip.
In addition to prevailing on the claims, the jury also awarded Mr. Lechner $10,000.00 in compensatory damages against LVMPD.
Counsel for the police officers and the LVMPD were Nicholas Crosby and Tabetha Steinberg of the law firm Marquis Aurbach CHTD., assisted by Jamie Frost, an employee of LVMPD.
Mr. Lechner spoke for himself pro se (without an attorney) at trial and was assisted by A.J. Gutierrez and Nina Gutierrez at the Plaintiff’s table, and off the table was Fred Gutierrez.
The Court entered final judgment on May 20, 2025. This victory represents a significant reaffirmation of the First and Fourth Amendment–protected rights of public performers and marks a major turning point in the recognition that public sidewalks—including those along the Las Vegas Strip—belong to the people. Expressive activities such as engaging with the public or soliciting tips are fully protected forms of speech, and public officials may not unlawfully infringe upon them.
BuskLV 