Court Opinion

ID: 9528546
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:41:54.688959+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:26:59.216466
License: Public Domain

Rose, J.,
with whom Springer, J., agrees,
concurring and dissenting:
In 1963, more than two decades ago, James Hand completed a one-year probationary period assessed against him for a felony conviction. The district court ordered that Hand’s guilty plea be changed to not guilty, and it dismissed the information. At the time, the law indicated that when the court dismisses the indictment or information against a defendant, “the defendant is there*583after released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense or crime of which he has been convicted.” NRS 176.340(1) (repealed in 1967) (emphasis added). The majority correctly states that both the present statute (NRS 176.225) and the former statute (NRS 176.340) allow such prior convictions to be used in subsequent prosecutions. However, the majority incorrectly asserts that such subsequent prosecutions include a violation of NRS 202.360 unless the right to possess firearms has been specifically restored according to law.
NRS 202.360 provides that a person who has been convicted of a felony may not own, possess or have custody or control of any firearm, unless he has received a pardon and his right to bear arms specifically has been restored. However, NRS 202.360 and NRS 176.340 are inconsistent. The majority ignores the fact that the statutory scheme in effect when Hand was convicted in 1962 is notably different from the statutory scheme today. In 1962, pursuant to NRS 176.340(1), the law did not place upon the defendant the affirmative burden of applying for the restoration of his civil rights. To the contrary, NRS 176.340(1) simply stated that the defendant is released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the crime. The current version of the statute, NRS 176.225(3), does indeed now place an affirmative burden upon the defendant to apply for the restoration of his civil rights.
I am at a loss to comprehend the majority’s reliance upon a comparison of NRS 176.340(3) to NRS 176.225(5) in support of its contention that NRS 176.340 does not release Hand from all penalties and disabilities, including status as an ex-felon. The above-mentioned sections appertain to the use of prior convictions for such purposes as impeachment in a subsequent trial and penalty enhancement. These sections are not of consequence in determining whether Hand’s civil rights were restored.
I believe NRS 176.340 clearly and unambiguously provided that Hand is released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from his felony conviction, and therefore, he is no longer an ex-felon for purposes of Nevada law. The majority opinion interprets NRS 176.340 differently. This is a persuasive indication that the statute is ambiguous. See McKay v. Bd. of Supervisors, 102 Nev. 644, 730 P.2d 438 (1986). Because penal statutes should be construed in favor of the accused, Demosthenes v. Williams, 97 Nev. 611, 614, 637 P.2d 1203, 1204 (1981), NRS 176.340, should be interpreted to mean that release from all penalties and disabilities includes the penalty that an ex-felon is not permitted to possess firearms. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
I concur as to the one count of possession with intent to sell a controlled substance.