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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

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A DISTINGUISHED
 CAREER

Sworn in as the 37th District Attorney for Washoe County on January 5th, 2015, DA Hicks has devoted his time to achieving justice, promoting public safety, and protecting the welfare of the community.  During that time, DA Hicks has served on multiple statewide commissions that serve to improve the criminal justice system in Nevada, including the Nevada Sentencing Commission, the Committee to Study Evidence-Based Pretrial Release (which created the state’s first pretrial risk assessment tool used daily by the courts in evaluating bail-release decisions), and the Committee to Create Statewide Rules of Criminal Procedure, whose rules were adopted by the Nevada Supreme Court in 2021. 

Within the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office, many improvements have been attained during Chris Hicks' service as DA.  Here are just a few:

  • Transitioned to a paperless office resulting in greater efficiencies in workflow and lower costs for Washoe County while promoting environmental responsibility

  • Developed the Washoe County Child Advocacy Center into a gold-standard accredited facility that brings justice to child sexual and physical abuse victims daily through its multidisciplinary approach to investigation and the services it provides, which include child victim and family counseling at no cost to the victim or the family

  • Directed a more aggressive approach to prosecutions of violent and repeat offenders resulting in less plea negotiations, more trials, and lengthier prison sentences for our worst offenders

  • Implemented public reporting of Officer Involved Shooting determinations enabling the public to review the facts and law that controlled the D.A.’s decision

  • Supported efforts to help pass the Nevada Victims of Crime Bill of Rights (Marsy’s Law) and subsequent office implementation protocols were utilized throughout the state in the implementation of these important constitutional protections

  • Creation of a hugely successful and award winning domestic violence victim program that focuses on assisting victims and improving prosecutions through early case assignment and victim outreach

  • The office‘s Family Support Division tasked with collecting child support is one of the top child support collection agencies in the State, collecting 2-3 million dollars in family support each month

  • Prosecutors have sought and received over 200 life sentences against child sexual predators, an unprecedented amount in that time frame

  • Created a first of its kind Specialty Court Team that staffs the county’s many diversion courts seeking to rehabilitate low-level offenders with substance abuse and mental health problems 

  • Launched a Conviction Integrity Committee that reviews post-conviction claims of innocence for reconsideration of prior prosecution outcomes and evaluates information that may tend to undermine a conviction or charge

  • The hugely successful Fraudulent Check Diversion Program eclipsed $11,000,000.00 in restitution collected and returned to local businesses

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