Martinorellan v. State , 2015 NV 6 ( 2015 )

131 Nev., Advance Opinion ee
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA
ROGELIO MARTINORELLAN A/K/A No. 58904
ROGELIO MARTINEZ-ORELLANO,
Appellant,
vs.
THE STATE OF NEVADA,
FILED
Respondent. FEB 2 6 2015
K. LINDEMAN
En bane reconsideration of a panel order affirming a judgment
of conviction, pursuant to a jury verdict, of burglary while in possession of
a deadly weapon, attempted robbery with the use of a deadly weapon, and
battery with the use of a deadly weapon. Eighth Judicial District Court,
Clark County; Susan Scann, Judge.
Judgrrterti affirmed.
Philip J. Kohn, Public Defender, and Sharon G. Dickinson, Deputy Public
Defender, Clark County,
for Appellant.
Mann 124w, t 1-44A1 -4--
Attorney General, Carson City; Steven B.
Wolfson, District Attorney, and (Deputy District
Attorney, Clark County,
for Respondent. 30nA.--11-vui f, ■/a1a6keeek
Chicc
BEFORE THE COURT EN BANC.
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OPINION
By the Court, DOUGLAS, J.:
In the present case, we consider the effect of the district
court's failure to instruct the jury to restart deliberations as is required by
NRS 175.061(4) after an alternate juror replaced a regular juror. NRS
175.061(4) provides that "[i]f an alternate juror is required to replace a
regular juror after the jury has retired to consider its verdict, the judge
shall recall the jury, seat the alternate and resubmit the case to the jury."
Thus, if a district court fails to instruct the jury to restart deliberations, it
commits an error that, in appropriate circumstances, can require reversal
despite overwhelming evidence of guilt. Carroll v. State, 111 Nev. 371,
372-74, 892 P.2d 586, 587-88 (1995).
Appellant Rogelio Martinorellanl did not object to the district
court's failure to instruct the reconstituted jury to restart deliberations.
At issue here is (1) whether the district court's failure was an error of
constitutional dimension, (2) which standard of review applies to an
unpreserved constitutional error, )(3) (d whether the district court
committed a reversible error in this case. We hold that although the
district court's error was of constitutional dimension, it is subject to plain
error review because Martinorellan did not preserve this issue. Therefore,
'The judgment of conviction shows the defendant's name as Rogelio
Martinorellan. However, throughout the trial and on appeal, Rogelio is
referred to as Rogelio Martinez-Orellano. We follow the name that
appears on the judgment of conviction.
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we affirm the conviction because Martinorellan did not demonstrate that
the district court's failure to instruct the reconstituted jury to restart
deliberations rose to the level of plain error.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Martinorellan entered a smoke shop and stabbed the store's
owner while attempting to commit a robbery. At trial, the jury deliberated
for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes before the district court
convened a hearing, dismissed a juror who stated that he knew the victim,
and replaced that juror with an alternate juror. The district court did not
recall the jury to the courtroom or instruct it to restart deliberations.
Martinorellan did not object to the district court's decision not to recall the
jury and instruct it to restart deliberations. 2 The reconstituted jury
deliberated for nearly 4 hours and 30 minutes over two days and viewed a
playback of testimony before convicting Martinorellan of burglary while in
possession of a deadly weapon, attempted robbery with the use of a deadly
weapon, and battery with the use of a deadly weapon.
After Martinorellan appealed, a panel of this court affirmed
his conviction, holding in a footnote that Martinorellan's assignment of
error regarding the district court's failure to instruct the jury to restart
deliberations was without merit. The panel denied Martinorellan's
2Martinorellan argues that the remaining original jurors deliberated
after the juror who knew the victim was removed and before the alternate
juror joined the jury. However, the record does not demonstrate that the
jury deliberated during the period of time between the removal of the juror
who knew the victim and the seating of the alternate juror. Therefore,
this argument is without merit.
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petition for rehearing, and he filed a petition for en bane reconsideration.
This court granted the petition for en bane reconsideration to address the
district court's failure to instruct the jury to restart deliberations when the
alternate juror replaced the original juror.
DISCUSSION
We first consider the nature of the error of failing to instruct a
jury to restart deliberations when an alternate juror replaces an original
juror. We next address the standard of review to be applied to this error if
it is unpreserved. Finally, we determine if the district court committed
reversible error in this case.
The failure to instruct the jury to restart deliberations when an alternate
juror replaces an original juror is an error of constitutional dimension
Martinorellan argues that the failure to instruct the jury to
restart deliberations after an alternate juror replaced an original juror
was an error of constitutional dimension because it interfered with his
constitutional right to a trial by a fair and impartial jury. 3 The State
argues that this error was not of constitutional dimension because the
3Although Martinorellan argued in his briefing in support of his
petition for en bane reconsideration that the district court's failure to
instruct the jury to restart deliberations violated NRS 16.080, he
contended at oral argument before the en bane court that NRS 175.061(4)
is the statute that applies. In relevant part, NRS 16.080 provides that in
a civil trial the district court shall recall the jury and resubmit the case
when replacing an original juror with an alternate juror during
deliberations. Although NRS 16.080's provision is analogous to NRS
175.061(4), which governs criminal trials, it does not apply to the present
case. Therefore, we limit our consideration to NRS 175.061(4).
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district court did not prevent the jury from restarting deliberations after
the alternate juror was seated. We review de novo whether an error is of
constitutional dimension. See Jackson v. State, 128 Nev. , , 291
P.3d 1274, 1277 (2012) (reviewing constitutional issues de novo).
NRS 175.061(4) provides that "[i]f an alternate juror is
required to replace a regular juror after the jury has retired to consider its
verdict, the judge shall recall the jury, seat the alternate and resubmit the
case to the jury." While we have not expressly addressed whether the
error in this circumstance is of constitutional dimension, we have
determined that a district court's failure to instruct a reconstituted jury to
restart deliberations violates NRS 175.061 and can constitute reversible
error. See Carroll, 111 Nev. at 372-74, 892 P.2d at 587-88.
In Carroll, the district court failed to instruct the jury to
restart deliberations when an alternate juror replaced an original juror
after two days of deliberations. Id. at 373, 892 P.2d at 587-88. The
reconstituted jury then deliberated for "only a couple of hours before the
final verdict was rendered." Id. at 373, 892 P.2d at 588. Although there
was overwhelming evidence of the defendant's guilt, the Carroll court held
that the district court's failure to instruct the jury to restart deliberations,
as required by NRS 175.061, was not harmless because the relatively
short length of time of the post-substitution deliberations "may [have]
indicate[d] that the alternate juror was unduly influenced by the rest of
the jury." Id. at 373, 892 P.2d at 587-88. As a result, it reversed the
defendant's conviction. Id. at 374, 892 P.2d at 588. The Carroll court,
however, did not address whether the failure to instruct the reconstituted
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jury to restart deliberations was an error of constitutional dimension. See
id. at 372-74, 892 P.2d at 587-88. Therefore, we address this issue now.
An error is of constitutional dimension if it impairs a
defendant's constitutional rights. See Dickson v. State, 108 Nev. 1, 3, 822
P.2d 1122, 1123 (1992). A criminal defendant has a "Sixth Amendment
right to a fair trial by an impartial jury." Valdez v. State, 124 Nev. 1172,
1185, 196 P.3d 465, 474 (2008). An error which violates this right is of
constitutional dimension. See id. at 1188, 196 P.3d at 476.
The failure to instruct a jury to restart deliberations after an
alternate juror replaces an original juror during deliberations can create
the risk of the original jurors exerting undue influence on the alternate
juror. Carroll, 111 Nev. at 373, 892 P.2d at 588. Thus, this failure
infringes on a defendant's right to a trial by an impartial jury. See Vi ray
v. State, 121 Nev. 159, 163-64, 111 P.3d 1079, 1082 (2005) (observing that
a juror exercising improper influence on another juror could prejudice the
defendant). Therefore, we now hold that the failure to instruct the jury to
restart deliberations when an alternate juror replaces an original juror is
an error of constitutional dimension because it impairs the right to a trial
by an impartial jury.
Unpreserved errors are reviewed for plain error regardless of whether they
are of constitutional dimension
We ordinarily review an error that was not preserved in the
district court for plain error. Valdez, 124 Nev. at 1190, 196 P.3d at 477;
Nelson v. State, 123 Nev. 534, 543, 170 P.3d 517, 524 (2007).
Martinorellan, however, argues that the standard of review for an
unpreserved constitutional error should be the same as that for a
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preserved constitutional error. Thus, he contends that this court should
review an unpreserved constitutional error to determine if it was harmless
beyond a reasonable doubt. See Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 24
(1967) (setting forth the standard of review for preserved constitutional
error).
Instead of using the ordinary standard of review that applies
to preserved constitutional errors, we have reviewed unpreserved
constitutional errors for plain error. See Maestas v. State, 128 Nev. ,
, 275 P.3d 74, 89 (2012) (reviewing an unpreserved First Amendment
claim for plain error). Our review of unpreserved constitutional errors for
plain error is consistent with the United States Supreme Court's caselaw
which provides that unpreserved constitutional errors are to be reviewed
for plain error. See Johnson v. United States, 520 U.S. 461, 465-66 (1997)
(reviewing an unpreserved Sixth Amendment jury right violation for plain
error). Therefore, we hold that all unpreserved errors are to be reviewed
for plain error without regard as to whether they are of constitutional
dimension.
Martinorellan did not demonstrate that the district court's failure to
instruct the jury to restart deliberations after the alternate juror replaced
the original juror was plain error
Martinorellan argues that the district court's failure to
instruct the jury to restart deliberations was prejudicial to his right to a
trial by an impartial jury because of the relatively short amount of time
that the jury deliberated after the alternate juror was seated. We now
address the nature of our review of the district court's error and whether
reversal is warranted.
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The district court's error is subject to review for plain error
Martinorellan did not object when the district court failed to
instruct the reconstituted jury to restart deliberations. Therefore, we
review this error for plain error. Valdez, 124 Nev. at 1190, 196 P.3d at
477.
"To amount to plain error, the 'error must be so unmistakable
that it is apparent from a casual inspection of the record." Vega v. State,
126 Nev. , 236 P.3d 632, 637 (2010) (quoting Nelson, 123 Nev. at
543, 170 P.3d at 524). In addition, "the defendant [must] demonstrate[]
that the error affected his or her substantial rights, by causing 'actual
prejudice or a miscarriage of justice." Valdez, 124 Nev. at 1190, 196 P.3d
at 477 (quoting Green v. State, 119 Nev. 542, 545, 80 P.3d 93, 95 (2003)).
Thus, reversal for plain error is only warranted if the error is readily
apparent and the appellant demonstrates that the error was prejudicial to
his substantial rights.
Here, the error is readily apparent from the record. The trial
transcripts presented in the record do not show that the district court gave
any instruction to the reconstituted jury when the alternate juror joined it.
The question then is whether Martinorellan has demonstrated that this
error had a prejudicial effect on his substantial rights.
Martinorellan did not demonstrate that the district court's error had
a prejudicial effect on his right to a jury trial
When determining whether an error relating to the
substitution of an alternate juror for an original juror is prejudicial, courts
t(
consider[], among other factors, the length of the jury's deliberations
before and after the substitution." United States v. Virgen Moreno, 265
-
F.3d 276, 289 (5th Cir. 2001). Thus, if most of the jury's deliberation time
occurs before an error relating to the replacement of an original juror, this
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can demonstrate that the error was prejudicial. See Carroll, 111 Nev. at
373, 892 P.2d at 588 (holding that because the jury reached a verdict "only
a couple of hours" after an alternate juror joined the jury two days into
deliberations, the district court's failure to instruct the jury to restart
deliberations was a prejudicial error); see also United States v. Lamb, 529
F.2d 1153, 1156 (9th Cir. 1975) (holding that because a jury reached a
verdict only 29 minutes after an alternate juror joined it following nearly 4
hours of deliberations, there was "impermissible coercion upon the
alternate juror"); cf. State v. Guytan, 968 P.2d 587, 594 (Ariz. Ct. App.
1998) (holding that the trial court's failure to instruct the jury to restart
deliberations after replacing a juror 30 minutes into deliberations was
harmless error, in part because the reconstituted jury deliberated for 5
hours before reaching a verdict).
Here, the jury deliberated for approximately 1 hour and 15
minutes before the district court convened a hearing to replace an original
juror with an alternate juror. The reconstituted jury then deliberated for
nearly 4 hours and 30 minutes before convicting Martinorellan. Thus,
over 75 percent of the jury's deliberation time occurred after the alternate
juror joined the jury. As a result, this case is distinct from Carroll and
Lamb where the vast majority of the jury's deliberation time occurred
before the alternate juror replaced the original juror. Instead, it is similar
to Guytan where nearly all of the jury's deliberation time occurred after
the alternate juror replaced the original juror. Because the relative
lengths of time that the jury deliberated before and after the alternate
juror replaced an original juror do not demonstrate that the district court's
error was prejudicial, Martinorellan failed to demonstrate that the district
court's failure to instruct the reconstituted jury to restart deliberations
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rose to the level of plain error. Therefore, this unpreserved error does not
warrant reversal of Martinorellan's conviction, and we affirm the
judgment of conviction.
J.
We concur:
Lf2eX \ , C.J.
Hardesty
J.
Gibbons
J.
Pickering
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SAITTA, J., with whom CHERRY, J., agrees, dissenting:
Although I agree with the majority's conclusion that a district
court's failure to instruct the jury to restart deliberations after an
alternate juror replaces an original juror impairs a defendant's
constitutional right to a trial by an impartial jury, I believe that this
failure is a structural error which requires that Martinorellan's conviction
be reversed and his case be remanded for a new trial. Therefore, I
respectfully dissent.
Because this type of error can substantially alter how the jury
deliberates, it "affect[s] the very 'framework within which the trial
proceeds' and is thus a structural error. Cortinas v. State, 124 Nev. 1013,
1024, 195 P.3d 315, 322 (2008) (quoting Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1,
8 (1999)). Without an instruction from the district court to begin
deliberating anew, there is a significantly greater risk that the original
jurors will improperly impose upon the alternate juror any conclusions
that they reached before the original juror's removal.
In addition, the district court's failure to instruct the jury to
begin deliberating anew impliedly allows the jury to rely on the
deliberations of the removed juror—a person who is not part of the jury
actually deciding the defendant's guilt. Because this error undermines the
defendant's right to an impartial jury by allowing a removed juror's
deliberations to be considered and permitting the original jurors to
improperly impose their previously reached conclusions onto a newly
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seated juror, it is a structural error. Therefore, I would reverse
Martinorellan's conviction and remand this case for a new trial.
Saitta
I concur:
J.
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