Opinion
No. 81691
10-02-2020
BRENDAN R. COENEN, Petitioner, v. THE STATE OF NEVADA; THE HONORABLE STEVE SISOLAK, GOVERNOR; JAMES DZURENDA, DIRECTOR; PERRY RUSSELL, WARDEN; AND NEVADA STATE BOARD OF PAROLE COMMISSIONERS, Respondents.
ORDER DENYING PETITION FOR EXTRAORDINARY RELIEF
This original pro se petition for extraordinary relief seeks petitioner's immediate release from prison as well as the appointment of a special counselor/master with the authority to appropriately reduce the prison population so that the Nevada Department of Corrections may comply with recommendations for sanitation and social distancing. Petitioner argues that the Nevada Department of Corrections has failed to address unsanitary conditions in the prison and, as a result, the increased risk of Covid-19 infection presents a serious threat to both his health, due to his preexisting health conditions, and that of other prisoners.
For many of the same reasons addressed in Kerkorian v. State, Docket No. 80917 (Order Denying Petition, April 30, 2020)—including the presence of fact questions this court is ill-suited to resolve—we deny the petition. See Round Hill Gen. Imp. Dist. v. Newman, 97 Nev. 601, 604, 637 P.2d 534, 536 (1981) (recognizing that "an appellate court is not an appropriate forum in which to resolve disputed questions of fact" and determining that when there are factual issues presented, this court will not exercise its discretion to entertain a petition for extraordinary relief even though "important public interests are involved"). Accordingly, we
In light of our decision, we deny petitioner's motion for the appointment of counsel.
/s/_________, C.J.
Pickering /s/_________, J.
Hardesty /s/_________, J.
Silver cc: Brendan R. Coenen
Attorney General/Carson City