Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for April 30, 2020
Lewis v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct.
State v. Second Jud. Dist. Ct. (Radonski)
Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for November 14, 2019
Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for December 20, 2018
Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for December 6, 2018
STATE VS. DIST. CT. (HEARN (MATTHEW))
STATE VS. DIST. CT. (OJEDA (FRANCISCO))
LAKE TAHOE PROTECTION DIST. VS. BD. OF ADMIN.
O’KEEFE VS. STATE, DEP’T OF MOTOR VEHICLES
Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for September 27, 2018
WARREN, JR. (JOSEPH) VS. DIST. CT. (STATE)
HALL PRANGLE & SCHOONVELD, LLC VS. DIST. CT. (PETERSON) C/W 70083
Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for March 1, 2018
STATE, DEP’T. OF BUS. AND INDUS., FIN. INST. DIV. VS. DOLLAR LOAN CTR., LLC
ZENOR VS. STATE, DEP’T OF TRANSP.
STATE VS. DIST. CT. (BAKER (JEFFREY))
K-KEL, INC. VS. STATE, DEP’T OF TAXATION
DEZZANI VS. KERN & ASSOC.’S, LTD. C/W 69410
JEREMIAS (RALPH) VS. STATE (DEATH PENALTY-DIRECT)
Nevada Appellate Courts Advance Opinions for October 5, 2017
HUMPHRIES VS. NEW YORK-NEW YORK HOTEL & CASINO, LLC
SWEAT (LONNIE) VS. DIST. CT. (STATE)
WILLIAMS (JESSICA) VS. STATE, DEP’T OF CORR.
JOHNSON (DONTE) VS. STATE (DEATH PENALTY-PC)
IN RE: PARENTAL RIGHTS AS TO A.D.L. AND C.L.B., JR.
State v. Harris (Nev. Supreme Ct. – July 30, 2015)
The issue is whether the Nevada Supreme Court has jurisdiction to review the State’s appeal from an order granting a prejudgment motion for a new trial in a criminal matter.
On October 2, 2013, a jury returned verdicts finding Harris guilty of first-degree murder, child abuse and neglect with the use of a deadly weapon, and two counts of child abuse and neglect. Prior to sentencing, Harris filed a timely motion for a new trial, which the district court granted. Pursuant to NRS 177.015(1)(b), the State appealed from the order granting the motion for a new trial. In State v. Lewis, 124 Nev. 132, 178 P.3d 146 (2008), the Nevada Supreme Court previously held that NRS 177.015(1)(b) only permits appeals from district court orders resolving post-conviction motions for a new trial. Therefore, the Nevada Supreme Court in this case ordered the State to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
The State argued that the Lewis holding was based on a rationale that has no application to its right to appeal in a criminal case. The State, therefore, requested the Court to revisit Lewis as it related to appeals from orders granting prejudgment motions for a new trial.
The plain language of NRS 17.015
NRS 177.015(1)(b) provides, in relevant part, that any aggrieved party, whether it is the State or the defendant, may appeal “from an order of the district court. . . granting or refusing a new trial.” Thus, the Court determined that the plain language of NRS 177.015(1)(b) clearly authorized an appeal from an order granting a motion for a new trial and did not limit the right to an appeal based on when the motion was filed or when the order resolving it was entered.
State v. Lewis and NRS 177.015(1)(b)
The Court explained that the Nevada Supreme Court has had a prior opportunity to consider the State’s right to appeal pursuant to NRS 177.015(1)(b) from a prejudgment order granting relief. The Lewis court held that the State did not have a statutory right to appeal from an order granting a presentence motion to withdraw a guilty plea. In reaching this decision, the Lewis court observed that Nevada Rule of Appellate Procedure NRAP 3A, which governs civil appeals, used language similar to the provision in NRS 177.015(1)(b) regarding an appeal from an order granting or refusing a new trial and that the language in NRAP 3A had been interpreted to only allow for an appeal from an order denying a post-judgment motion for a new trial. Noting these similarities and that the Nevada Supreme Court had treated a motion to withdraw a guilty plea as tantamount to a motion for a new trial, the Lewis court stated that it saw no reason to construe the same language in NRS 177.015(1)(b) in an inconsistent manner.
