Attaguile v. State

134 P.3d 715, 122 Nev. 504, 122 Nev. Adv. Rep. 46, 2006 Nev. LEXIS 61
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedMay 25, 2006
DocketNo. 43252
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 134 P.3d 715 (Attaguile v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Attaguile v. State, 134 P.3d 715, 122 Nev. 504, 122 Nev. Adv. Rep. 46, 2006 Nev. LEXIS 61 (Neb. 2006).

Opinions

OPINION

By the Court,

Gibbons, J.:

Pursuant to plea negotiations with the State, appellant Gina Marie Attaguile entered a plea of guilty to one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, second offense. Thereafter, Attaguile filed a notice of election for rehabilitative treatment pursuant to NRS 458.300. Prior to sentencing, the district court found that Attaguile’s guilty plea counted as her third felony conviction and ruled that she was therefore ineligible to elect treatment under NRS 458.300(4). We conclude that the district court erred. In determining eligibility for rehabilitative treatment, the district court may not count a judgment of conviction it has yet to enter as a prior felony conviction. Further, we conclude that the district court erroneously construed Attaguile’s prior conviction of two felony counts as two separate, prior felony convictions. Because Attaguile’s prior conviction of the two felony counts arose from the same incident, Attaguile will be eligible to have the instant offense set aside under NRS 458.330 if she successfully completes a treatment program.

[506]*506 FACTS

While on patrol, a police officer spotted Attaguile and suspected she was engaged in an illegal drug transaction with five Hispanic males. The officer approached and questioned Attaguile. She consented to a search of her person and her purse. The officer found substances later determined to be methamphetamine and marijuana, in addition to numerous clear baggies and other paraphernalia associated with the selling of controlled substances. The State charged Attaguile with one count of trafficking in a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell.

After plea negotiations, Attaguile entered a plea of guilty to one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, second offense, a category C felony under NRS 453.337. Pursuant to NRS 458.300, Attaguile submitted a notice of election for rehabilitative treatment. The State opposed her request for rehabilitative treatment, arguing in part that Attaguile’s prior judgment of conviction of two felony counts rendered her ineligible to elect treatment under NRS 458.300(4).1 At a hearing on the matter, the district court denied the election for rehabilitative treatment, finding that Attaguile was ineligible under NRS 458.300(4) because her most recent guilty plea constituted her third felony conviction. The district court subsequently sentenced Attaguile to serve a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of 30 months in the Nevada State Prison but stayed execution of the sentence pending this court’s review of its decision.

DISCUSSION

The district court erred when it found Attaguile ineligible to elect treatment prior to sentencing under NRS 458.300(4). Because a defendant elects treatment prior to sentencing, the district court may not count the conviction it has yet to enter in determining eligibility. Further, because Attaguile’s prior conviction of two felony counts arose from the same incident, Attaguile is eligible to have the instant offense set aside under NRS 458.330 if she successfully completes a drug treatment program.

Attaguile’s entry of a guilty plea in the instant case does not count as a prior judgment of conviction for purposes of determining eligibility for treatment under NRS 458.300(4)

NRS 458.300(4) provides in pertinent part:

Subject to the provisions of NRS 458.290 to 458.350, inclusive, an alcoholic or a drug addict who has been convicted of [507]*507a crime is eligible to elect to be assigned by the court to a program of treatment for the abuse of alcohol or drugs pursuant to NRS 453.580 before he is sentenced unless:
4. The alcoholic or drug addict has a record of . . . three or more convictions of any felony.

We conclude that Attaguile’s guilty plea to the instant offense does not constitute a prior conviction under NRS 458.300(4).

“Statutory interpretation is a question of law reviewed de novo.”2 In interpreting a statute, we will not look beyond the statutory language unless the language is ambiguous.3 NRS 458.300 plainly and unambiguously provides that a defendant may elect treatment before sentencing. In Nevada, a formal judgment of conviction must include both the “adjudication and sentence.”4 Further, a judgment of conviction is of no effect until it is signed by the judge and filed by the clerk.5 Because the district court determines eligibility for treatment prior to sentencing, and because a formal conviction cannot be entered until a defendant has been sentenced, we conclude that the Legislature clearly and unambiguously intended that a defendant’s entry of a guilty plea alone cannot constitute a prior felony conviction for the purposes of determining eligibility for treatment. In this case, Attaguile was eligible for treatment under NRS 458.300(4) because when she filed her notice to elect treatment prior to sentencing, she did not have a record of three or more felony convictions.

Attaguile is eligible to have the instant offense set aside under NRS 458.330 if she successfully completes a drug treatment program

Under NRS 458.330

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
134 P.3d 715, 122 Nev. 504, 122 Nev. Adv. Rep. 46, 2006 Nev. LEXIS 61, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/attaguile-v-state-nev-2006.