Roger v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Ct. ( 2013 )

restricts the jurisdiction of justice courts to misdemeanor matters only.
The district court denied the district attorney's complaint, concluding that
justices of the peace who serve as masters are not acting as officers of the
justice court when they accept felony pleas and that, as such, EDCR 1.48
does not conflict with NRS 4.370(3). This appeal followed.
On appeal, the District Attorney again contends that EDCR
1.48 conflicts with NRS 4.370(3) by permitting justices of the peace to
accept pleas in felony criminal cases.
Pursuant to State v. Frederick, 129 Nev. P.3d
April 25 )
(Adv. Op. No. £7, 2013), we conclude that justices of the peace duly
appointed to serve as district court masters may take felony pleas as
district court masters without conflicting with NRS 4.370(3) or otherwise
violating provisions of the Nevada Constitution. Accordingly, we
ORDER the judgment of tftre-Nlistrict court AFFIRMED. 2
J7"
Parvauine
Par n
Gibbons
Douglas
Saitta
2We submit this appeal for decision without oral argument. NRAP
34(f)(1).
2
cc: Chief Judge, The Eighth Judicial District Court
Robert E. Estes, Senior Judge
Clark County District Attorney
Attorney General/Carson City
Clark County Public Defender
Eighth District Court Clerk
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MTIE7:1114&2E21921ifff.2601bE EWEN
HARDESTY, J., with whom PICKERING, C.J., and CHERRY, J., agrees,
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
The Nevada Constitution gives the Legislature exclusive
authority to define the jurisdiction of our justice courts. Nev. Const. art. 6,
§ 8 ("The Legislature shall determine the number of Justices of the Peace
to be elected in each city and township of the State, and shall fix by
law . . . the limits of their civil and criminal jurisdiction . ."). See also
Salaiscooper v. Dist. Ct., 117 Nev. 892, 899, 34 P.3d 509, 514 (2001)
("[T]he jurisdictional boundaries of Nevada's justice courts are defined by
the [L]egislature."). NRS 4.370(3) limits the criminal jurisdiction of the
justice courts to misdemeanors, "except as otherwise provided by specific
statute." Going further, NRS 171.196(1) states, in mandatory terms, "[i]f
an offense is not triable in the Justice Court, the defendant must not be
called upon to plead." (Emphasis added.) Together, the Constitution and
statutes deny justices of the peace authority to accept felony pleas.
The issue in this case is clear. Can the judicial branch,
pursuant to local district court rule, give a Nevada justice of the peace
authority over felony guilty pleas, when the Legislature has expressly
denied that authority?
NRS 3.245 empowers the district court to appoint masters to
hear plea negotiations in felony and gross misdemeanor cases. However,
NRS 3.245 does not, by its terms, override the general and express
prohibitions in NRS 4.370 and NRS 171.196(1), respectively. Indeed,
nothing in the legislative history of NRS 3.245 suggests or even implies
anything to the contrary.
In the absence of any "specific" statutory provision to expand
the authority of a justice of the peace to accept felony pleas, the majority
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turns to EDCR 1.48, which permits qualified judges to serve as masters
and claims that the local rule does not unconstitutionally expand the
jurisdiction of the justices of the peace. I disagree.
Through EDCR 1.48, the district court allows a justice of the
peace, by virtue of his or her status as a justice of the peace, to perform
the duties granted to masters under NRS 3.245. In doing so, the court
rule grants justices of the peace jurisdiction in felony cases that the
Legislature has expressly denied them. To this extent, EDCR 1.48
expands the justice of the peace's jurisdiction, and it is unconstitutional.
As this court recently held in Hernandez v. Bennett-Haron, only the
Legislature can expand the jurisdiction of the justices of the peace. 128
Nev. , 287 P.3d 305, 316 (2012) (holding that "by providing for the
participation of justices of the peace in Clark County's inquest
proceedings[,] . . . the Clark County Board of County Commissioners has
unconstitutionally impinged on the Legislature's constitutionally
delegated authority"); see also Nev. Const. art. 6, § 8 ("The Legislature
shall determine. . . the limits of [a justice of the peace's] civil and criminal
jurisdiction . ."). As such, I conclude that the district courts cannot
expand the jurisdiction of the justices of the peace through a local rule
such as EDCR 1.48. To hold otherwise vitiates our holding in Hernandez.
I take no issue with the Legislature's decision to delegate to
district courts the authority to designate district court hearing masters. I
also recognize the efficiency to be achieved by expanding the authority of
the justices of the peace to take felony-related pleas. However, the
Constitution vests the authority to make this decision in the Legislature,
not the courts.
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Accordingly, I must dissent.
Hardesty
We concur:
44- , C.J.
Pickering
C IARA
Cherry
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