Warren v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court of Nev.
Warren v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court of Nev.
Opinion of the Court
In this original proceeding, we consider whether NRS 178.562(2) limits the State's options after the justice court dismisses a criminal complaint that charges felony and/or gross misdemeanor offenses such that the State can only file a motion for leave to file an information by affidavit or obtain a grand jury indictment and cannot appeal the justice court's decision to the district court. We conclude *1035that in addition to the remedies set forth in NRS 178.562(2), NRS 177.015(1)(a) authorizes the State to appeal from a justice court decision dismissing a criminal complaint charging felony and gross misdemeanor offenses because such a decision is a final judgment. Therefore, the district court had jurisdiction over the State's appeal in this case.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The State filed a criminal complaint charging petitioner Joseph Warren, Jr., with four felony offenses and two gross misdemeanor offenses. After the preliminary hearing, the justice court dismissed the criminal complaint, determining that the State's evidence was based upon inadmissible hearsay and, as a result, the State had not demonstrated probable cause. The State then filed a motion for leave to file an information by affidavit, which was denied because the State had not met the requirements of NRS 173.035. At the same time, the State filed an appeal to the district court from the dismissal of the criminal complaint. Warren filed a motion to dismiss the State's appeal, arguing that the district court lacked jurisdiction because the only remedies available to the State upon dismissal of the charges were a motion for leave to file an information by affidavit or a grand jury indictment and that no statute allowed for the State's appeal. Determining that it had jurisdiction over the appeal pursuant to NRS 177.015(1)(a), the district court denied Warren's motion. On the merits of the appeal, the district court determined that the justice court erroneously dismissed the complaint and remanded the case.
Warren then filed this original petition for a writ of certiorari, mandamus, or prohibition challenging, among other things, the district court's jurisdiction over the appeal. This court transferred the petition to the court of appeals. See NRAP 17(b). A majority of the court of appeals determined that the district court had jurisdiction over the appeal pursuant to NRS 177.015(1)(a) and denied the petition. The dissent disagreed, observing that this court's case law had only recognized the remedies set forth in NRS 178.562(2). Warren sought this court's review of the jurisdictional issue, and we granted Warren's petition for review.
DISCUSSION
"A writ of certiorari is an extraordinary remedy and the decision to entertain a petition for a writ of certiorari lies within the discretion of this court." Zamarripa v. First Judicial Dist. Court,
Warren argues that no statute or court rule authorizes an appeal from the justice court's decision dismissing the criminal complaint. Further, relying upon NRS 178.562(2) and State v. Sixth Judicial Dist. Court (Warren),
*1036NRS 177.015(1)(a) provides that the party aggrieved, whether the State or the defendant, may appeal "[t]o the district court of the county from a final judgment of the justice court." Thus, the plain language of NRS 177.015(1)(a) vests appellate jurisdiction in the district court over a final judgment of the justice court. See Walker v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court,
A final judgment is an order that "disposes of all issues and leaves nothing for future consideration." Sandstrom v. Second Judicial Dist. Court,
Notwithstanding the plain language of NRS 177.015(1)(a), Warren argues that the dismissal of a felony/gross misdemeanor criminal complaint is not final because another statute, NRS 178.562(2) affords the State two options to remedy the justice court's dismissal of charges. We disagree.
NRS 178.562(2) provides that "[t]he discharge of a person accused upon preliminary examination is a bar to another complaint against the person for the same offense, but does not bar the finding of an indictment or filing of an information." This provision limits the means by which the State may institute a new prosecution for the same offense after a justice court finds no probable cause to support the charge. To institute a new prosecution for the same offense, the State may not file a second criminal complaint alleging the same offense but may institute a new case by filing a motion for information by affidavit or seeking a grand jury indictment. These options start a new case. They do not alter the finality of the justice court's decision to dismiss the criminal complaint because they do not contemplate further action by the justice court on the dismissed complaint. Nothing in the plain language of NRS 178.562(2) speaks to the finality of a justice court's decision to dismiss a criminal complaint or precludes the State from seeking relief from such a decision by way of an appeal to the district court.
CONCLUSION
We conclude that NRS 177.015(1)(a) authorizes the State to file an appeal to the district court from a justice court decision dismissing a criminal complaint that charged felony and/or gross misdemeanor offenses. Therefore, the district court did not exceed its jurisdiction in entertaining the State's appeal. Accordingly, we deny the petition.
We concur:
Douglas, C.J.
Gibbons, J.
Parraguirre, J.
Stiglich, J.
CHERRY, J., with whom PICKERING, J., agrees, dissenting:
*1037I respectfully dissent from the majority's decision to allow the State to appeal from a justice court order dismissing charges for insufficient evidence because it contravenes the exclusive remedies set forth in NRS 178.562(2). NRS 178.562(2) provides that "[t]he discharge of a person accused upon preliminary examination is a bar to another complaint against the person for the same offense, but does not bar the finding of an indictment or filing of an information." Notably absent from this provision is any mention of an appeal from a justice court order dismissing charges. Consequently, this court has long recognized that the State's remedy for the dismissal of felony charges in justice court is either an information by affidavit pursuant to NRS 173.035(2) or a grand jury indictment. See State v. Sixth Judicial Dist. Court (Warren ),
The majority mistakenly relies upon NRS 177.015(1)(a) in allowing for an appeal from the dismissal of felony charges. NRS 177.015(1)(a) allows the State to appeal from a final order of the justice court. As the majority recognized, this court has defined a final judgment as one that "disposes of all issues and leaves nothing for future consideration." Sandstrom v. Second Judicial Dist. Court,
The State's potential remedies from the dismissal of felony charges are purposefully narrow in recognition that the government should not be permitted multiple bites at the same apple. For example, in the case of a motion for information by affidavit, this court has recognized that this device is available only to correct egregious error by the justice court. See Cranford v. Smart,
The majority's decision leaves unanswered what will happen when there is a justice court decision binding over some charges but dismissing others. Is this a final decision? It does not seem to make much sense from the point of judicial economy to have one case pending in the district court on the charges as bound over and yet another case pending in front of another district court judge on the State's appeal from the dismissal of charges.
If the Legislature wishes to allow the State to appeal a justice court order dismissing felony charges for lack of probable cause, let the Legislature do so plainly and unambiguously. Until that occurs, I believe that the State is limited to those remedies set out in NRS 178.562(2).
I concur:
Pickering, J.
In his petition for review, Warren stated that he was not seeking review as to the other arguments raised in his writ petition and his requests for a writ of mandamus and/or prohibition. Consequently, we have limited our review in this matter to the request for a writ of certiorari challenging the district court's jurisdiction to consider the State's appeal.
The fact that cases interpreting NRS 178.562(2), such as Warren , have not mentioned an appellate remedy does not eliminate the right to an appeal provided in NRS 177.015(1)(a) ; those cases addressed only whether the State could initiate a new prosecution after the justice court dismissed a complaint, an issue that is governed by NRS 178.562, not whether the State could have appealed from the justice court decision.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Joseph WARREN, Jr. v. The EIGHTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, IN AND FOR the COUNTY OF CLARK and the Honorable Richard Scotti, District Judge, and The State of Nevada, Real Party in Interest.
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published