As I've said in prior postings on this blog, arraignments and initial court appearances tend to be low-key. The defendant appears . . . his or her lawyer says a few things . . . the court sets another date for a future hearing (or potentially the start of a trial) and everyone leaves.

What was supposed to be the out of custody arraignment of Teresa Nickelby was not a NORMAL hearing.

First, audiences at arraignments tend to be small. Maybe a few family members. Moments before the judge entered the room, about 30 or 40 people filed in the Clark County courtroom. About 8-10 flanked themselves around Nickelby who is still in a wheelchair following a car accident that took place four months ago.

Everyone else was either a friend or family member of Jessica Blanck and Kristyne Shaddix. In late April, Nickelby collided head-on with Shaddix and Blanck, killing both women. Nickelby was allegedly drunk at the time and using a suspended license.

Family and friends of the two girls wore badges with their photos over the word "Justice" and vowed to attend every court date until Nickelby is sentenced.

Supporters from both sides were raw with emotion as the proceedings dragged on. There were several cases to be heard and it took about a half hour for the judge to get to the Nickelby case (they tried to call it earlier but were missing one of the attorneys).

When Nickelby was finally called to the front of the courtroom, the prosecutor dropped a bit of a bombshell. Not only is Nickelby facing vehicular homicide charges for the crash (carrying a potential sentence of 4-5 years behind bars) . . . she has several WARRANTS. It turns out, at the time of the crash Nickelby was wanted for several offenses including jumping bail.

As a result of that and the severity of the current charges, the judge denied her request to be released on her own recognizance and had her taken into custody . . . the set bail of $50,000 elicited a few expletives from her supporters and sighs of relief from the family of the victims.

As an observer, I noticed an interesting dynamic in the gallery. It has been my experience at court hearings, that the family and supporters of the victims tend to be angry, aggressive, frustrated and more prone to emotional outburst. Conversely, the family of the defendant tend to be a bit more passive . . . upset, tearful but not angry and not hostile.

But at the Nickelby hearing it was the opposite. The family/friends of Nickelby were more forceful in the courtroom . . . there were even reports of Nickelby's wheelchair being run into the family of the victims . . . I and another reporter approached the Nickelby camp after the hearing to offer them a chance to speak on her behalf . . . they screamed at us and left.

Conversely, Rob Blanck (the father of Jessica) was incredibly subdued during the event . . . weeping with his family and talking openly about how this is only the first step on what promises to be a long road . . . there was no anger in his voice . . . just hope for justice for his daughter.

Nickelby does not yet have an attorney and the prosecutor declined to talk about the case on record. Both sides will be back in court on Thursday.