§ 34.930 — “Newly discovered evidence” defined

“Newly discovered evidence” means evidence that was not available to a petitioner at trial or during the resolution by the trial court of any motion to withdraw a guilty plea or motion for new trial and which is material to the determination of the issue of factual innocence, including, without limitation:
1. Evidence that was discovered before or during the applicable period for any direct appeal or postconviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to this chapter that served in whole or in part as the basis to vacate or reverse the petitioner’s conviction;
2. Evidence that supports the claims within a postconviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus that is pending at the time of the court’s determination of factual innocence pursuant to NRS 34.900 to 34.990 , inclusive; or
3. Relevant forensic scientific evidence, other than the expert opinion of a psychologist, psychiatrist or other mental health professional, that was not available at the time of trial or during the resolution by the trial court of any motion to withdraw a guilty plea or motion for new trial, or that undermines materially forensic scientific evidence presented at trial. Forensic scientific evidence is considered to be undermined if new research or information exists that repudiates the foundational validity of scientific evidence or testimony or the applied validity of a scientific method or technique. As used in this subsection:
(a) “Applied validity” means the reliability of a scientific method or technique in practice.
(b) “Foundational validity” means the reliability of a scientific method to be repeatable, reproducible and accurate in a scientific setting.

Legislative History

(Added to NRS by 2019, 2977 )