Clark County, Nevada
November 13, 2025
The Regional Justice Center (RJC)—the supposed crown jewel of justice for Clark County and home to the Eighth Judicial District Court—has deteriorated into a disgraceful embarrassment. The building where judges lecture citizens about responsibility, where prosecutors and defense attorneys argue about accountability, and where families fight for their children’s futures is now overrun by rats.
Not rumors. Not one-off sightings.
Real rats.
Running across the floors of the first level of our courthouse like they own the place.
This isn’t a maintenance problem. This is a failure of leadership—and a glaring symbol of just how broken oversight has become at the RJC.
A Justice Center Infested and Ignored:
The first floor—the busiest, most populated section of the entire complex—is now known among staff as “ground zero” for rodent activity. The infestation has escalated far beyond what any responsible government body could call acceptable:
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Rats sprinting along the walls and corners.
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Rats running behind vending machines.
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Rats leaving droppings under benches, near office doors, and inside public corridors.
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Rats appearing early in the morning before the public arrives.
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Rats triggering legitimate fears of contamination and disease.
Employees are tired of whispering about it. The infestation is not an isolated problem—it’s a daily reality.
It is absolutely unacceptable that staff, attorneys, jurors, and litigants are forced to walk the same hallways as disease-carrying rodents inside a publicly funded courthouse.
Judges Are Asking to Be Reassigned — That’s How Bad It Has Become:
Here’s how severe the situation is:
Even judges assigned to the first floor have requested to be moved.
Let that sink in.
Judges—people with lifetime careers, security escorts, chambers, and the highest authority in the court—are asking to be relocated because the building is no longer safe, sanitary, or tolerable.
When judges cannot perform their constitutional duties because rats are infesting their chambers and hallways, the problem is no longer a maintenance issue—it is a scandal.
And the fact that these requests are being quietly swept under the rug instead of treated as an emergency reveals just how deep the complacency runs.
A Health Crisis and a National Embarrassment:
This infestation isn’t just disgusting—it’s a public health emergency. Rat droppings and urine can transmit illness. Vending machines and food areas are vulnerable. Thousands of people flow in and out of the first floor daily. Yet the silence from county leadership has been deafening.
If a private business had these conditions, the Southern Nevada Health District would have shut it down without hesitation.
But apparently, when it comes to the courthouse, the rules don’t apply.
Instead of transparency, we get denial.
Instead of solutions, we get excuses.
Instead of accountability, we get finger-pointing.
Employees Are Fed Up:
Staff members—who cannot speak publicly without fear of retaliation—describe the situation in blunt terms:
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“It’s embarrassing. This is the courthouse, not a back-alley warehouse.”
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“The rats are out before the public arrives. We see them regularly.”
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“Nothing is being done. Everyone knows about it, and everyone is tired of it.”
The people who keep the court running deserve better than this. They shouldn’t have to share their workspace with vermin.
The First Floor: A Failure for All to See:
The first floor is the beating heart of the courthouse:
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Main entrance and security.
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Clerk’s offices.
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Payment windows.
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Public seating.
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Attorney–client meeting areas.
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Access to every courtroom above.
This is where the public forms its first impression of the justice system.
And right now, that impression is:
“Welcome to the Regional Justice Center. Mind the rats.”
If any other government building—City Hall, the County Commission chambers, the District Attorney’s Office—had this problem, there would be immediate outrage and action. But because it’s “just the courthouse,” leadership seems perfectly content to ignore it.
A Demand for Immediate Action:
The situation has crossed every line of professionalism, safety, and public trust. The RJC belongs to the people, and the people deserve better than this disgrace.
It is past time for:
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A full, public, transparent health inspection.
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Immediate and aggressive pest eradication.
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A published remediation plan.
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Accountability for the negligence that allowed this to happen.
Silence is complicity.
Ignoring it is corruption.
Allowing it to continue is unforgivable.
The Bottom Line:
A justice system that cannot maintain a clean courthouse has no business lecturing citizens about responsibility.
The rat infestation at the Regional Justice Center—especially on the first floor—is not a minor inconvenience. It is a public health scandal, a leadership failure, and a humiliation to Clark County.
When judges are begging to be reassigned, when staff are scared to speak openly, and when the public walks through hallways shared with vermin, the system is no longer functioning as a pillar of justice—it is rotting from the inside.
The people of Clark County deserve a courthouse where justice—not rats—runs the halls.
