Opinion
No. 61993
07-22-2013
CARL EDWARDS A/K/A CARL DEAN EDWARDS, Appellant, v. THE STATE OF NEVADA, Respondent.
An unpublished order shall not be regarded as precedent and shall not be cited as legal authority. SCR 123.
ORDER OF AFFIRMANCE
This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction, pursuant to a guilty plea, of battery causing substantial bodily harm, a category C felony. Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County; Stefany Miley, Judge.
Appellant Carl Edwards claims that imposition of the maximum sentence allowed constitutes cruel and unusual punishment because he showed remorse and took responsibility for his actions. Regardless of its severity, a sentence that is "within the statutory limits is not 'cruel and unusual punishment unless the statute fixing punishment is unconstitutional or the sentence is so unreasonably disproportionate to the offense as to shock the conscience.'" Blume v. State, 112 Nev. 472, 475, 915 P.2d 282, 284 (1996) (quoting Culverson v. State, 95 Nev. 433, 435, 596 P.2d 220, 221-22 (1979)); see also Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S. 957, 1000-01 (1991) (plurality opinion) (explaining that the Eighth Amendment does not require strict proportionality between crime and sentence; it forbids only an extreme sentence that is grossly disproportionate to the crime). The sentence imposed of 24 to 60 months in prison is within the parameters provided by the relevant statutes, see NRS 200.481(2)(b); NRS 193.130(2)(c), and Edwards does not allege that those statutes are unconstitutional. The record demonstrates that Edwards hit the victim multiple times in the face with a closed fist and kicked her multiple times in the upper body. The victim sustained a facial fracture, bruising and a contusion resulting in facial disfigurement requiring substantial medical and dental intervention. Having considered the sentence and the crime, we are not convinced that the sentence imposed is so grossly disproportionate to the crime as to constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Therefore, we
ORDER the judgment of conviction AFFIRMED.
__________, J.
Hardesty
__________, J.
Parraguirre
__________, J.
Cherry
cc: Hon. Stefany Miley, District Judge
Clark County Public Defender
Attorney General/Carson City
Clark County District Attorney
Eighth District Court Clerk