Opinion ID: 2514450
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: In re William M.

Text: According to the police report filed in William M.'s case, a witness to a two-person robbery of Roberto's Taco Shop identified William during a one-on-one lineup as the lookout during the robbery. At the time of the identification, William was already in custody, but there is no indication in the record of how William came to be in custody or why he was presented to the witness for identification. William, who was 17 years old at the time of the incident, was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, burglary while in possession of a firearm, and robbery with the use of a deadly weapon. The State sought to certify William as an adult by way of a certification petition under NRS 62B.390(2), the presumptive certification provision. William filed an opposition to the State's certification petition, attaching to it the juvenile court psychologist's evaluation and William's probation officer's certification report. Both reports detailed William's alcohol abuse. The psychological report stated that he had a serious alcohol abuse problem and that his alcohol scale score fell within the maximum risk range, requiring his participation in a substance abuse counseling program. In addition, the court psychologist diagnosed William with cannabis abuse, amphetamine abuse, and conduct disorder (adolescent-onset type), as well as legal, academic, and peer group issues. The certification report revealed that William had been cited twice for alcohol-related offenses, was placed on formal probation for having possessed or consumed alcohol as a minor, and was referred to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. A hearing was held to determine whether William should be certified for criminal trial as an adult under NRS 62B.390(2). During that hearing, William's counsel stipulated to prosecutive merit, based on the witness who claimed that William had acted as a lookout. William's counsel then explained that although there was clear and convincing evidence regarding William's substance abuse, William was unable to rebut the presumption of adult certification by connecting his substance abuse problem to any actions in the alleged robbery, as he denied being involved in the incident. While maintaining William's innocence, William's counsel then asked the court to assume that if William had been present during the alleged taco shop robbery, his actions would have been influenced by either alcohol or some other type of drug. The court orally responded that, even though William had clearly established an alcohol abuse problem, he had not established a direct nexus between his alcohol abuse and the alleged conduct, as required by this court's interpretation of NRS 62B.390(3)'s rebuttal terms in Anthony Lee R., A Minor v. State, [6] The juvenile court reasoned that, even if it were to assume that William probably would have been under the influence had he been present at the scene, such a hypothetical situation would not amount to the clear and convincing evidence required to rebut the certification presumption. At the close of William's certification hearing, the juvenile court, concluding that William could not meet his burden to rebut the certification presumption, as he had taken the position that he was not even present during the alleged incident, certified William for criminal proceedings as an adult. The order certifying William was submitted by the State and signed by the juvenile court. Although the juvenile court had orally recognized that William obviously has an issue with alcohol, the court's written order stated that the court found no substantial substance abuse. Subsequently, William appeared in the district court for criminal proceedings and pleaded not guilty to the charges. William then timely filed his notice of appeal from the order certifying him as an adult. He is currently in adult detention and faces up to 51 years' imprisonment on the charges.