Nevada lawmakers dealing with major court rulings

Lawmakers heard Tuesday that recent state Supreme Court and federal court decisions have nullified some of Nevada's laws dealing with capital punishment, police searches and other major issues.

Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, pledged to consider bills dealing with the laws affected by the rulings.

"We prefer to see the laws made by the Legislature rather than the court, strange people that we are," Anderson said at his committee's first hearing.

The first bills to face lawmakers would modify state death penalty law to bring Nevada into line with last year's U.S. Supreme Court rulings against executions of mentally retarded people and limiting the use of judicial sentencing panels. The bills are the product of a special committee created last session.

Anderson said Assembly members would examine those bills "piece by piece" next week and that seven freshmen on his committee would get "an education" in death-penalty law.

More law-tweaking based on court rulings is expected.

A Nevada law restricting possession of ingredients used to create drugs like methamphetamine was found unconstitutionally vague by the state Supreme Court, Legislative Counsel Bureau analysts told lawmakers.

Also struck down was a law that targets potential child-molesters by making it illegal to "annoy" children.

Anderson said bills to modify those laws have been introduced in the Senate but not yet in the Assembly. But the high school teacher reminded lawmakers, "We want to keep it on our dance cards, gentlemen and ladies."

More uncertain is the future of a state law requiring people to identify themselves to police.

In December, the Nevada Supreme Court upheld that law. But federal precedent is muddied, said University of Nevada, Las Vegas, constitutional law professor Michael Bowers.

While the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down such laws, the 10th U.S. Circuit allows them, Bowers said, adding that he expects the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the difference.

Lawmakers currently have no proposal to modify Nevada laws on identification demands from police. That means someone arrested for refusing to identify themselves could successfully challenge his arrest in federal court but not in state court.

Assemblyman Harry Mortenson, D-Las Vegas, said he was concerned about the uncertainty facing law officers.

"I can't understand how you can sit in limbo on a case like that," Mortenson said. "That makes it terrible for a policeman to carry out his duties not knowing if he can be sued or not."

Other planned death penalty bills will be considered by the committee, Anderson said. One would provide for DNA testing of evidence and another prohibits execution of juveniles.

Observers say the proposal on juveniles from Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, is less likely than others to win approval.

"The other two are going to have the force of the Supreme Court behind them," Bowers said. "On juveniles, you simply don't have that hammer."

One man is on Nevada's death row convicted as a juvenile. Michael Domingues was 16 in 1993 when he killed Arjin Pechpho, 24, and her 4-year-old son, Johnathan Smith, at their home in Las Vegas.

The state Supreme Court rejected his appeal and the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review his claim that executing those under age 18 violates an international treaty.