Nevada Juveniles Not Prisoners for Prisoner Battery Statute
Nevada Juveniles Not Prisoners for Prisoner Battery Statute
The Nevada Supreme Court held that a juvenile detained for delinquency in a state facility is not a prisoner for purposes of Nevada's felony battery-by-a-prisoner statute.
"Javier C., was adjudicated delinquent and committed to the Nevada Youth Training Center (NYTC), 'a state facility for the detention or commitment of (delinquent) children.’" While there, Javier allegedly battered a staff member.
The State charged Javier as an adult with battery by a prisoner under NRS 200.481(2)(f). Citing Robinson v. State, 117 Nev. 97, 98, 17 P.3d 420, 421 (2001), however, the trial court granted Javier's motion to dismiss the charge, agreeing that "because Javier C.'s detention at NYTC was civil, not criminal, he was not a 'prisoner' to whom NRS 200.481(2)(f) could apply."
The State appealed but the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed. Noting that it had previously considered NRS 200.481(2)(F)'s use of the word "prisoner" in Robinson, the Court observed that for the statute "to apply, the alleged batterer must have been 'in custody for criminal conduct,' Robinson, 117 Nev., at 98, 17 P3d at 421, and his confinement must have occurred 'in (the) criminal context.'”
"By law, Javier C.'s custodial confinement is civil," the Court found. Accordingly, juveniles housed at NYTC "are not 'prisoners' and subject to prosecution for felony battery by a prisoner under NRS 200.481(2)(f)." The Court rejected the State's public policy argument, that juveniles must be considered prisoners within the meaning of NRS 200.481(2)(f) in order to deter batteries. "Juveniles remain subject to delinquency or, if certified as an adult, criminal proceedings for battery under other provisions of NRS 200.481," the Court observed. See: Nevada v. Javier C., 289 P.3d 1194 (Nev. 2012).
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Related legal cases
Nevada v. Javier C.
| Year | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 289 P.3d 1194 (Nev. 2012) |
| Level | State Supreme Court |
| Conclusion | Bench Verdict |
Robinson v. State
| Year | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 117 Nev. 97, 98, 17 P.3d 420, 421 (2001) |
| Level | State Supreme Court |
| Conclusion | Bench Verdict |