Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

State ordered to reconsider jobless benefits for teacher in marijuana case

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Supreme Court has ordered the state to reconsider its decision to deny unemployment payments to a school teacher who pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana.

Clinton Hohenstein was a teacher in Washoe County who was caught with marijuana plants in his home, according to court documents.

After he pleaded guilty, the school district fired him on grounds of immorality and conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude, according to court documents. Hohenstein applied for unemployment benefits but was denied on the basis of his termination.

District Court Judge Robert Perry suspended the sentence, placed the teacher on three years’ probation and gave him a chance to avoid a final judgment of conviction.

The Supreme Court, in a decision written by Justice Kristina Pickering, referred to a law that says certain first-time drug offenders can avoid a criminal penalty by pleading guilty and completing a three-year probationary period. Upon successful completion, the criminal charge is dismissed.

Hohenstein had completed half of the three years’ probation when he was denied the jobless benefits.

“We cannot uphold a decision denying unemployment benefits for workplace misconduct where the employer relied on a felony conviction that didn’t exist...” Pickering wrote.

The court said the state Division of Employment Security should review its decision in Hohenstein’s case without considering the guilty plea. The agency should also consider whether the school district met its burden of proof that Hohenstein committed disqualifying misconduct that resulted in his firing.

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