Opinion ID: 1194884
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The district court properly instructed the jury concerning the definition of willfully as used in NRS 200.508

Text: In Childers v. State, 100 Nev. 280, 680 P.2d 598 (1984), we considered the propriety of giving an instruction defining the word willfully as was given in this case. [1] We concluded that the definition was proper to describe the intent needed for the general intent crime of child abuse/neglect. The instruction was proper. The child abuse statute is a general intent crime. The word willfully must be defined in that context. The California courts have long approved the use of this definition of willfully, which is taken from the California Penal Code Section 7(1). See, e.g., People v. Atkins [53 Cal.App.3d 348] 125 Cal.Rptr. 855, 861 (Cal.App.1975) (approves use under child abuse statute, California Penal Code Section 273d). (Footnote omitted.) In Smith v. State, 112 Nev. 1269, 927 P.2d 14 (1996), we recently upheld a child abuse and neglect conviction based on NRS 200.508 and held that this statute was not unconstitutionally vague. Child neglect is a general intent crime, and the definition of willfully has been approved several times in Nevada and elsewhere. We find no error in its use in this case.