Opinion
No. 67349
06-16-2015
JOAQUIN ANTONIO GUERRA, 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An unpublished order shall not be regarded as precedent and shall not be cited as legal authority.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 an order of the district court denying a post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County; David B. Barker, Judge.
This appeal has been submitted for decision without oral argument, NRAP 34(f)(3), and we conclude the record is sufficient for our review and briefing is unwarranted. See Luckett v. Warden, 91 Nev. 681, 682, 541 P.2d 910, 911 (1975).
Appellant Joaquin Antonio Guerra filed his petition on November 13, 2014, almost six years after entry of the judgment of conviction on November 20, 2008. Thus, Guerra's petition was untimely filed and procedurally barred absent a demonstration of good cause—cause for the delay and undue prejudice. See NRS 34.726(1).
Guerra filed a motion requesting the district court vacate his judgment of conviction due to ineffective assistance of counsel. Given the nature of the claims raised, the district court properly construed the motion as a post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus. See NRS 34.724(2)(b) (explaining that, except for challenges incident to the trial proceedings, a post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus is the exclusive remedy for challenging the validity of a judgment of conviction).
No direct appeal was taken.
--------
Guerra appeared to assert the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010) provided good cause to claim he did not receive proper advice regarding the immigration consequences stemming from his conviction for sexually motivated coercion. However, Guerra did not attempt to explain the four-year delay in raising claims that stemmed from the Padilla decision, and therefore, he failed to demonstrate that an impediment external to the defense should excuse the procedural time bar. See Hathaway v. State, 119 Nev. 248, 252, 71 P.3d 503, 506 (2003). In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that Padilla does not apply retroactively, Chaidez v. United States, 568 U.S. ___, ___, 133 S. Ct. 1103, 1113 (2013), and therefore, application of Padilla does not provide relief to Guerra. We conclude the district court did not err in denying the petition. Accordingly, we
ORDER the judgment of the district court AFFIRMED.
/s/_________, C.J.
Gibbons
/s/_________, J.
Tao
/s/_________, J.
Silver
cc: Hon. David B. Barker, District Judge
Joaquin Antonio Guerra
Attorney General/Carson City
Clark County District Attorney
Eighth District Court Clerk