Opinion
No. 62234
06-13-2013
DANIEL NICHOLAS HUGHES, 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An unpublished order shall not be regarded as precedent and shall not be cited as legal authority.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 entered pursuant to a guilty plea of grand larceny of a motor vehicle. Second Judicial District Court, Washoe County; Janet J. Berry, Judge.
Appellant Daniel Nicholas Hughes contends that the district court abused its discretion when it imposed a maximum prison sentence because the Division of Parole and Probation's sentencing recommendation may have been skewed and he did not harm anyone, is amenable to rehabilitation, and suffers from mental health issues. However, Hughes' 24- to 60-month prison sentence falls within the parameters of the relevant statutes, see NRS 193.130(2)(c); NRS 205.228(2), and he does not allege that the district court relied solely on impalpable or highly suspect evidence, see Silks v. State, 92 Nev. 91, 94, 545 P.2d 1159, 1161 (1976); therefore, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion at sentencing, see Chavez v. State, 125 Nev. 328, 348, 213 P.3d 476, 490 (2009).
To the extent that Hughes contends that his sentence constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, we conclude that his contention lacks merit. See Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S. 957, 1000-01 (1991) (plurality opinion); Blume v. State, 112 Nev. 472, 475, 915 P.2d 282, 284 (1996) (observing that "[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" (internal quotation marks omitted)).
Having concluded that Hughes is not entitled to relief, we
ORDER the judgment of conviction AFFIRMED.
_______________, J.
Hardesty
_______________, J.
Parraguirre
_______________, J.
Cherry
cc: Hon. Janet J. Berry, District Judge
Washoe County Alternate Public Defender
Attorney General/Carson City
Washoe County District Attorney
Washoe District Court Clerk