Nevada
Media outlets challenge sealing of secretive Murdoch succession fight in Nevada court
A Washoe County probate commissioner has denied attempts to videotape secretive court proceedings in media magnate Rupert Murdoch’s legal battle against his children, as national media outlets attempt to unseal the case.
Murdoch — the 93-year-old businessman behind the media companies that control Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and other outlets in Australia and Britain — has been using a Nevada probate court to seek changes in an irrevocable trust controlling company shares and who will succeed him following his death, the New York Times reported in July.
The case is set to go to trial this month, to determine whether Murdoch is acting in good faith and for the sole benefit of heirs by seeking to change the trust, the New York Times reported. The limited information publicized about the case shows that a series of evidentiary hearings are scheduled to begin on Sept. 16.
Six national media outlets — the New York Times, CNN, The Associated Press, National Public Radio, The Washington Post and Reuters — have joined in an attempt to open proceedings to the public and access the case’s records, according to documents obtained by the Review-Journal.
In August, Probate Commissioner Edmund Gorman Jr. denied a request to videotape the proceedings from Alexander Falconi, the operator of the Our Nevada Judges media website.
The commissioner wrote that electronic coverage of the case would violate the “parties’ rights to privacy which are protected by Nevada Revised Statutes,” according to court documents obtained by the Review-Journal.
Our Nevada Judges has challenged the commissioner’s decision to prevent coverage, prompting responses from attorneys involved in the proceedings who are seeking to prevent public access. Attorneys who authored responses to the challenge do not indicate the names of their clients, and wrote that the court proceedings scheduled for this month should remain closed because they concern a trust.
“The confidential nature of these proceedings is supported by both historical precedent and current legislative intent to protect the privacy and well-being of those involved,” attorneys wrote in a response to Our Nevada Judge’s challenge. “This protection is crucial for maintaining Nevada’s status as a competitive jurisdiction for estate planning and asset protection.”
Multiple attorneys involved in the case did not respond to request for comment on Monday afternoon.
“I will continue to authorize Our Nevada Judges Inc. to participate in litigation confronting efforts by the judiciary and legislature to seal and close our courts without the strict scrutiny analysis mandated by the First Amendment,” Falconi said in an emailed statement. “The sealing of the entire file of the Murdoch trust case is egregiously excessive and an ongoing embarrassment.”
The national media outlets filed a motion last week to unseal the case. Attorney Maggie McLetchie, who is representing the media outlets, wrote that there is a large public interest in the case due to “the potential of this proceeding to determine the direction of a media empire with immense influence over the American political landscape,” according to a copy of the motion.
The only published information about the case includes “general docket information” visible on the Washoe County District Court’s website, which fails to include the names of the parties involved in the court proceedings. A status conference in the case is scheduled for Tuesday and remains closed to the public, District Court Clerk Alicia Lerud said Monday.
“Though some litigants may desire secrecy and some courts indulge this desire, this level of sealing does not pass constitutional muster,” McLetchie wrote in the motion filed on behalf of the media companies, adding that civil proceedings and records should be presumed open to the public under the First Amendment and Nevada’s constitution.
Documents filed by Our Nevada Judges and the coalition of national media outlets both reference a Nevada Supreme Court ruling in a separate case brought by Falconi, in which the high court found that the public has a constitutional right to Family Court proceedings.
McLetchie wrote in the motion that because of the Supreme Court ruling, a judge must give a reason to close a case in civil proceedings.
Attorneys opposing Our Nevada Judge’s efforts to obtain media access wrote that trust proceedings are ruled by a different state law, unrelated to the Supreme Court ruling in the prior case.
“Unlike the family law proceedings at issue in Falconi, the trust proceedings at issue here are deeply rooted in equity and were historically treated as private matters,” the attorneys wrote in court documents.
Murdoch’s trust currently divides control of the family business between his four oldest children — Lachlan, James, Elisabeth and Prudence, the New York Times reported. But Murdoch wants to only allow Lachlan, currently the top executive at Fox Corp. and News Corp., to run the businesses, arguing in court that doing so would preserve conservative editorial standards the companies’ commercial value, according to the Times.
Attorneys for Elisabeth, Prudence and James Murdoch have argued that their father is trying to disenfranchise them, which would violate the spirit of the trust’s “equal governance provision,” the Times reported.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.
HopeLink of Southern Nevada is hosting its first-ever “Dink for HopeLink” Pickleball Tournament. This is the organization’s main fundraiser of the year Join them for some friendly competition while helping raise money to PREVENT homelessness in Southern Nevada.
HopeLink of Southern Nevada is a non-profit family resource center providing much needed assistance to PREVENT families, individuals and vulnerable seniors from facing homelessness.
‘Dink for HopeLink’ is happening at CHICKEN N’ PICKLE June 28th, 2026 from 1:30pm – 5pm.
Nevada County is pleased to announce that Dr. Brian Evans has been selected to serve as Nevada County’s next Public Health Officer.
“Dr. Evans brings a long history of leadership in healthcare in Nevada County to the Health Officer position,” said Public Health Director Toby Guevin. “His expertise and knowledge of local health needs and providers across the county will be invaluable as we work to strengthen the health of our community. I also want to thank Dr. Cooke for her dedicated service as Health Officer for the past four years, guiding us through numerous challenges coming out of COVID 19.”
Dr. Evans was selected through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process, which drew from a pool of highly qualified candidates nationwide. His start date is planned for July 1, 2026, pending approval by the Board of Supervisors at their June 16 meeting.
“I’m honored to step into the role of Public Health Officer for Nevada County,” said Dr. Evans. “This is an opportunity to strengthen partnerships across the community, focusing on prevention, preparedness, and improving health outcomes. I look forward to supporting a science based public health team that is responsive, transparent, and grounded in the needs of our residents.”
Dr. Evans is a physician with more than two decades of clinical and leadership experience. Since 2022, he has served as Chief Medical Officer for Tahoe Forest Health, overseeing clinical quality, patient safety, emergency preparedness, communicable disease response, and regulatory compliance across two critical access hospitals and a broad network of services. He has served as both CEO and Chief Medical Officer at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, and served as CEO at Mercy Folsom and Chief Medical Officer at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento.
A board-certified emergency physician, Dr. Evans practiced for 15 years in Grass Valley after completing residency at UC Davis. He holds an MD from UCLA, an MBA from CSU Sacramento, and a BS in Biology from UC Davis. Dr. Evans lives in Nevada County with his wife, Jennifer, and has two adult daughters.
California law requires each county to appoint a licensed physician as Health Officer. The Health Officer is responsible for carrying out provisions of the State Health and Safety Code and serves as the physician of record for all Public Health clinical services. The Health Officer reports to the Public Health Director.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The Nevada DMV Compliance Enforcement Division is cracking down on stolen luxury cars being openly sold on social media, with criminals listing them using code words and asking as little as a tenth of the normal price.
In one case, a 2021 Hellcat TRX was advertised for $12,000. The vehicle normally sells for at least $100,000.
In an ad for the high-end truck on Facebook, the first word of the description said “lien.”
“It’s pretty blatant. I mean, it’s like advertising drugs for sale online on a public website,” said JD Decker, chief of Nevada DMV’s Compliance Enforcement Division.
Decker said the word is code for stolen.
“You won’t be able to register it or title it in your name… therefore the discounted price,” Decker said.
Investigation leads to recovery
Decker’s team tracked down the truck in the city of Las Vegas.
“We found the vehicle had been stolen locally and then wrapped to hide the color and mask the vehicle,” Decker said.
There were other signs the vehicle was stolen. The person pulled out the module from under the dash and started it by hot wire, touching the wires together. The VIN was not centered and was not a stamped manufactured VIN. The VIN also had 16 digits instead of the standard 17. A fake temporary tag was also used.
The team got a warrant to arrest the seller, though they say he fled the state.
“That subject had his first court appearance and had an attorney appear on his behalf. We know he operated between a couple different states. He had previous charges in a couple different states,” Decker said.
Decker said these openly stolen cars advertised for sale are known as striker vehicles.
“When you’re selling a striker vehicle to someone who knows it’s stolen, you really don’t have to make much effort to hide the fact that it’s stolen because that’s kind of assumed in the transaction,” Decker said.
There are also websites that will advertise and sell striker vehicles. According to Decker, the negotiation takes place on offshore encrypted websites that aren’t subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
If you ever have doubts about a vehicle you want to buy, have the seller meet you at the DMV’s VIN inspection station.
“We’d be happy to do that. It’s free. There’s generally no waiting. And if the vehicle comes from out of state, it’s going to require a VIN inspection at DMV anyway,” Decker said.
Decker said his team is constantly on social media looking for stolen vehicles for sale, especially high-end vehicles. He said the ongoing problem with fake tags contributes to this problem. FOX5 has previously reported on that problem
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