Death Penalty Opponents Should Rethink Their Support for Life Without Parole Sentences

AUSTIN SARAT

Austin Sarat—Associate Provost and Associate Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Jurisprudence & Political Science at Amherst College—argues that life sentences without the possibility of parole (LWOP) are as problematic and damaging as the death penalty. For this reason, Professor Sarat calls upon death penalty opponents to reconsider their support for LWOP sentences.

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Doe Dancer I v. La Fuente, Inc.

Citation: 137 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 3

Opinion Date: February 25, 2021

Judge: Kristina Pickering

Areas of Law: Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court granting summary judgment against Plaintiffs, who argued that they were employees of Defendant within the context of the Minimum Wage Amendment (MWA), Nev. Const. art. XV, section 16, holding that summary judgment was improper. Plaintiff, dancers, demanded minimum wages from Defendant, a men's club. Defendant refused to pay because it considered Plaintiffs independent contractors. Plaintiffs brought this class action seeking a ruling that they were employees rather independent contractors and were therefore entitled to minimum wages. The district court concluded that Nev. Rev. Stat. 608.0155 applied to Plaintiffs, rendering them independent contractors ineligible for minimum wages. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) Plaintiffs were employees within the MWA's meaning; and (2) Nev. Rev. Stat. 608.0155 does not abrogate the constitutional protections to which Plaintiffs were entitled.

State v. Fourth Judicial District Court

Citation: 137 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 4

Opinion Date: February 25, 2021

Judge: Kristina Pickering

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Court held that the State properly charges a defendant with only a single violation of Nev. Rev. Stat. 202.360(1)(b) when it alleges, without more, that the defendant is a felon who possessed "any firearms" - or, one or more firearms - at one time and place. Anthony Martinez shot two individuals. The police recovered five firearms at the scene - four from Martinez's car and the fifth from beside the car. The State charged Martinez with five counts of violating Nev. Rev. Stat. 202.360(1)(b) - possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a felony offense - one count per firearm. The district court granted Martinez's motion to consolidate the five felon-in-possession counts into a single count, concluding that Martinez committed, at most, a single violation of section 202.360(1)(b). The State filed a pretrial petition for extraordinary relief, arguing that the court wrongly interpreted the statute. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the State properly charges a defendant with only a single violation of section 202.360(1)(b) when it alleges, without more, that the defendant is a felon who possessed "any firearms" - i.e., one or more firearms - at one time and place.

Wilson, P.E. v. Pahrump Fair Water, LLC

Citation: 137 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 2

Opinion Date: February 25, 2021

Judge: Kristina Pickering

Areas of Law: Environmental Law, Real Estate & Property Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court invalidating Order No. 1293A, which prohibited the driving of new domestic wells in the Pahrump Artesian Basin unless the applicant identified and relinquished 2.0 acre-feet annually from an alternate source (the 2.0 afa requirement), as unlawful, holding that Nevada law authorized the order's 2.0 afa requirement under the circumstances. In invalidating the order, the district court concluded (1) the State Engineer violated due process by issuing the order without first providing notice and a public hearing; (2) the State Engineer lacked authority to issue the 2.0 afa requirement; and (3) substantial evidence did not support the order. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the State Engineer was not required to hold a hearing or develop a more robust record; (2) the State Engineer was not required to provide notice and a hearing regarding the 2.0 afa requirement under the circumstances; and (3) the State Engineer's decision was supported by substantial record evidence.