Title: Hernandez v. Bennett-Haron
Citation: 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 54
Docket Number: 
State: Nevada
Issuer: Nevada Supreme Court
Date: October 25, 2012

Hernandez v. Bennett-Haron Annotate this Case Justia Opinion Summary In this opinion, the Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of a county's code of ordinance provisions establishing coroner's inquests into an officer-involved death. Appellants, five highway patrol officers, contended that the inquest procedures and provisions violated their due process rights and that the county board of county commissioners unconstitutionally impinged on the Legislature's authority to establish the jurisdiction of justices of the peace. The Supreme Court (1) concluded that Appellants' due process arguments failed; but (2) determined that the code provision requiring that a justice of the peace serve as a presiding officer in coroner's inquest proceedings regarding officer-involved deaths intrudes on the Legislature's exclusive authority over the jurisdiction of justices of the peace. Because the code made no provision for anyone other than a justice of the peace to serve as presiding officer in such proceedings, the Court concluded that the offending provision could not be severed, which required the entire inquest scheme regarding officer-involved deaths to be struck down. Read more Want to stay in the know about new opinions from the Supreme Court of Nevada? Sign up for free summaries delivered directly to your inbox. Learn More › You already receive new opinion summaries from Supreme Court of Nevada. Did you know we offer summary newsletters for even more practice areas and jurisdictions? Explore them here . Download PDF