Jackson v. State
Jackson v. State
Opinion of the Court
In this appeal, we address the limited nature of an appeal taken from an amended judgment of conviction. We conclude that, in an appeal taken from an amended judgment of conviction, the appellant may only raise challenges that arise from the amendments made to the original judgment of conviction. Because appellant Anthony Jackson does not challenge the amendments made to his original judgment of conviction, we affirm.
FACTS
Jackson pleaded guilty pursuant to North Carolina v. Alford ,
The State subsequently accused Jackson of violating the conditions of his probation. The district court conducted a probation revocation hearing and determined Jackson had violated his probation. The district court ordered Jackson's probation revoked, amended his jail sentence by reducing it from 364 days to 300 days, and awarded him 46 days' credit for time served. This appeal follows.
DISCUSSION
Jackson claims his sentence of "three hundred sixty-four (364) days concurrent with his California case, suspended and placed on probation for one year concurrent with his California case," constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 6, of the Nevada Constitution. Because Jackson's claim plainly challenges the constitutionality of the sentence imposed in his original judgment of conviction, we must consider whether *1006an appellant may raise claims that arise from the original judgment of conviction in an appeal taken from an amended judgment of conviction.
In Sullivan v. State , the Nevada Supreme Court addressed a similar issue when it considered whether the entry of an amended judgment of conviction provided good cause to overcome the procedural bar to an untimely filed postconviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
The Nevada Supreme Court noted that a judgment of conviction may be amended at any time to correct an illegal sentence or clerical error and an amended judgment may be entered years or decades after entry of the original judgment of conviction.
The Nevada Supreme Court has "long emphasized the importance of the finality of judgments." Trujillo v. State ,
Jackson appeals from his amended judgment of conviction. Jackson does not challenge the revocation of his probation or the amendment of his sentence. Instead, he only challenges the constitutionality of the sentence imposed in the original judgment of conviction. We conclude this claim is not properly raised in this appeal. Accordingly, we affirm the amended judgment of conviction.
We concur:
Silver, C.J.
Tao, J.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Anthony JACKSON, a/k/a Anthony Rashard Johnson v. The STATE of Nevada
- Cited By
- 7 cases
- Status
- Published