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| NSC upholds judge’s ruling in Inmate's cell phone case |
| By silverpinyon.com - Dee Holzel |
| Published: 10/12/2012 |
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WINNEMUCCA — The Nevada Supreme Court has upheld a ruling by Judge Richard Wagner, of the 6th Judicial District Court, in which it was determined state law did not expressly prohibit inmates in county jail from having cell phones. The case stems from an incident in which an inmate at the Pershing County Jail, Nick Andrews, was discovered to have a cell phone in his cell. Pershing County DA Jim Shirley charged the defendant with having an item commonly used for escape, a category B felony. Pershing County Public Defender Steve Cochran filed a pre-trial writ of habeas corpus challenging the charges on the grounds the statute under which the defendant was charged was vague and overly broad. Further, he argued, the statute did not prohibit inmates in county jails from having cell phones. Had the Nevada Legislature intended to forbid county inmates from having cell phones, they would have said so, as they did in a separate statute that expressly prohibits state prisoners from having them, he argued. For his part, Shirley countered the Legislators couldn’t possibly include everything in the statute an inmate might use to escape, so they included a catch-all phrase. He presented multiple cases in which someone in custody used a cell phone to aid in escapes. Modern cell phones, he continued, are so powerful they can be used for more than just a ride out of town. They can also be used to download information – such as the schematics of the institution. At the district court level, Judge Wagner agreed with Cochran and ruled the statute had language that was vague and overly broad, and was therefore unconstitutional. He dismissed the charges. Read More. |
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