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Hayes v. State

COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEVADA
Jan 14, 2020
456 P.3d 259 (Nev. App. 2020)

Opinion

No. 78590-COA

01-14-2020

James Howard HAYES, Jr., Appellant, v. The STATE of Nevada, Respondent.

Sanft Law, P.C. Attorney General/Carson City Clark County District Attorney


Sanft Law, P.C.

Attorney General/Carson City

Clark County District Attorney

ORDER OF AFFIRMANCE

James Howard Hayes, Jr., appeals from a judgment of conviction entered pursuant to an Alford plea of attempted grand larceny. Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County; William D. Kephart, Judge.

Hayes argues his sentence is cruel and unusual because his sentence is disproportionate to his crime. Regardless of its severity, "[a] sentence 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 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).

Hayes' sentence of 60 to 174 months in prison is within the parameters provided by the relevant statute, see NRS 207.010(1)(a), and Hayes does not allege that statute is unconstitutional. We conclude the sentence imposed is not grossly disproportionate to the crime and Hayes' history of recidivism. See Ewing v. California , 538 U.S. 11, 29 (2003) (plurality opinion) ("In weighing the gravity of [the defendant's] offense, we must place on the scales not only his current felony, but also his long history of felony recidivism."). Therefore, Hayes' sentence does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Accordingly, we

ORDER the judgment of conviction AFFIRMED.

North Carolina v. Alford , 400 U.S. 25 (1970).


Summaries of

Hayes v. State

COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEVADA
Jan 14, 2020
456 P.3d 259 (Nev. App. 2020)
Case details for

Hayes v. State

Case Details

Full title:JAMES HOWARD HAYES, JR., Appellant, v. THE STATE OF NEVADA, Respondent.

Court:COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEVADA

Date published: Jan 14, 2020

Citations

456 P.3d 259 (Nev. App. 2020)

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Hayes v. State

Hayes filed a pro se notice of appeal and this court considered his direct appeal. See Hayes v. State,…