State v. Huebler

275 P.3d 91, 128 Nev. 192, 128 Nev. Adv. Rep. 19, 2012 WL 1447559, 2012 Nev. LEXIS 53
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedApril 26, 2012
Docket50953
StatusPublished
Cited by97 cases

This text of 275 P.3d 91 (State v. Huebler) 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
State v. Huebler, 275 P.3d 91, 128 Nev. 192, 128 Nev. Adv. Rep. 19, 2012 WL 1447559, 2012 Nev. LEXIS 53 (Neb. 2012).

Opinions

[195]*195OPINION

By the Court,

Douglas, J.:

This case arises from an untimely post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus stemming from a conviction, pursuant to a guilty plea, of lewdness with a child under 14 years of age. In his petition, respondent Charles Huebler alleged that he had good cause for his delay in filing the petition because the State improperly withheld surveillance videotapes that were exculpatory, which rendered his guilty plea involuntary. The district court granted relief to Huebler, and the State appeals.

In this appeal, we consider whether the State is required under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), to disclose material exculpatory evidence within its possession to the defense before the entry of a guilty plea. We conclude that the State is required to disclose such evidence before entry of a guilty plea. When the State fails to make the required disclosure, the defendant may challenge the validity of the guilty plea on that basis. To succeed, the defendant must demonstrate the three components of a Brady violation in the context of a guilty plea: that the evidence at issue is exculpatory, that the State withheld the evidence, and that the evidence was material. As to the materiality component in particular, we hold that the test is whether there is a reasonable probability or possibility (depending on whether there was a specific discovery request) that but for the State’s failure to disclose the [196]*196evidence the defendant would have refused to plead guilty and would have gone to trial. Because Huebler failed to demonstrate that he would have refused to plead guilty and would have gone to trial had the evidence been disclosed before the plea, we reverse the district court’s order.

FACTS

A fellow resident of Huebler’s apartment complex viewed Hue-bler swimming with children in the complex’s pool, believed Hue-bler was acting inappropriately with the children, and called the police. A seven-year-old girl who resided at the complex told the police that Huebler touched her buttocks and vagina while they were swimming. The child victim also stated that Huebler touched her inappropriately on multiple occasions while in the swimming pool and that the touching occurred underwater. The police collected surveillance videotapes that showed Huebler and the girl together in the pool on three days.

Huebler was arrested and charged with lewdness with a child under the age of 14. Counsel was appointed to represent Huebler, and counsel filed a motion for discovery. Counsel also asked the district attorney’s office if it would provide access to the surveillance videotapes; the prosecutor had not yet received a copy from the police but told defense counsel that the videotapes would be sent to the public defender’s office when the district attorney’s office received them. Soon after the request for the surveillance videotapes, and only one month after his arrest, Huebler entered a guilty plea to lewdness with a child under the age of 14. Huebler did not file a direct appeal.

More than two years after entry of the judgment of conviction, Huebler, with the aid of counsel, filed a post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the district court. In his petition, Huebler alleged that, among other things, he had good cause for the delay in filing his petition because the State had violated Brady by withholding the surveillance videotapes. He alleged that, but for the State’s failure to disclose the evidence, he would have refused to plead guilty arid proceeded to trial. The State opposed the petition, arguing that Huebler failed to demonstrate cause and prejudice. The district court conducted an evidentiary hearing and granted Huebler relief, determining that the evidence was exculpatory, had been withheld by the State, and was material to Hue-bler’s defense because the lack of access diminished his counsel’s “ability to provide a sound defense.”

On appeal, the State argues that the district court did not use the appropriate materiality standard in deciding that Huebler’s Brady claim was sufficient to demonstrate good cause for his delay and to warrant the relief granted. We agree and reverse.

[197]*197 DISCUSSION

The relationship between good cause for delay in filing a petition and the test for a Brady violation

NRS 34.726 limits the time in which a post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus that challenges a judgment of conviction or sentence may be filed. Such a petition must be filed within one year after entry of the judgment of conviction or, if a timely appeal is taken from the judgment, within one year after this court issues its remittitur, absent a showing of good cause for the delay. NRS 34.726(1); Dickerson v. State, 114 Nev. 1084, 967 P.2d 1132 (1998) (holding that NRS 34.726(1) refers to timely direct appeal). Huebler did not pursue a direct appeal, and he filed his petition on May 26, 2006, more than two years after the judgment of conviction was entered on October 24, 2003. Thus, Huebler’s petition was untimely filed and procedurally barred absent a demonstration of good cause for the delay.

To show good cause for delay under NRS 34.726(1), a petitioner must demonstrate two things: “[t]hat the delay is not the fault of the petitioner” and that the petitioner will be “unduly prejudice[d]” if the petition is dismissed as untimely. Under the first requirement, “a petitioner must show that an impediment external to the defense prevented him or her from complying with the state procedural default rules.” Hathaway v. State, 119 Nev. 248, 252, 71 P.3d 503, 506 (2003) (citing Lozada v. State, 110 Nev. 349, 353, 871 P.2d 944, 946 (1994)). “An impediment external to the defense may be demonstrated by a showing ‘that the factual or legal basis for a claim was not reasonably available to counsel, or that some interference by officials, made compliance impracticable.’ ” Id. (quoting Murray v. Carrier, 477 U.S. 478, 488 (1986) (citations and quotations omitted)). Under the second requirement, a petitioner must show that errors in the proceedings underlying the judgment worked to the petitioner’s actual and substantial disadvantage. Hogan v. Warden, 109 Nev. 952, 959-60, 860 P.2d 710, 716 (1993). We give deference to the district court’s factual findings regarding good cause, but we will review the court’s application of the law to those facts de novo. See Lott v. Mueller, 304 F.3d 918, 922 (9th Cir. 2002) (stating that district court’s findings of facts are reviewed for clear error, but questions of law are reviewed de novo); see also Lader v. Warden, 121 Nev. 682, 686, 120 P.3d 1164, 1166 (2005) (using similar reasoning for review of claims of ineffective assistance of counsel).2

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
275 P.3d 91, 128 Nev. 192, 128 Nev. Adv. Rep. 19, 2012 WL 1447559, 2012 Nev. LEXIS 53, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-huebler-nev-2012.