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Nevada Supreme Court finds deadly weapon enhancement amendment not retroactive

In State v. Dist. Ct. (Pullin), the Nevada Supreme Court, sitting en banc, grants the State's petition for a writ of mandamus which challenged the district court's decision to sentence defendant Denver Pullin pursuant to the ameliorative amendments made by the Legislature to NRS 193.165. The Court concludes that the new amendments to NRS 193.165, which were effective as of July 1, 2007, do not apply to offenders who committed their crimes prior to the effective date of the amendments but were sentenced after that date. The Court reaffirms the general rule that crimes are punishable in accord with the law in force at the time a defendant commits his crime unless the Legislature clearly expresses its intent to the contrary. The same rules concerning retroactive application of changes in criminal law apply equally to both primary offenses and sentence enhancements.continue to full post

Full post as published by Harmful Error on July 24, 2008 (boomark / email).