WAYNE MONT FAIRSE v. THE STATE OF NEVADA (2025)

ORDER OF AFFIRMANCE

Wayne Mont. Fairse appeals from a district court order denying a motion to correct illegal sentence filed on May 16, 2024. Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County; Joseph Hardy, Jr., Judge.

In his motion, Fairse sought to vacate his sentence because he alleged the sentencing court lacked jurisdiction to impose it. Specifically, he claimed that NRS 171.010 lacks any statutory source within the Statutes of Nevada because the statutory source was repealed by Senate Bill 2 in 1957.

A motion to correct an illegal sentence may only challenge the facial legality of the sentence: either the district court was without jurisdiction to impose a sentence or the sentence was imposed in excess of the statutory maximum. Edwards v. State, 112 Nev. 704, 708, 918 P.2d 321, 324 (1996). And such a motion “presupposes a valid conviction.” Id. (quotation marks omitted).

Although Fairse purports to challenge the district court's jurisdiction only insofar as it pertains to his sentencing, his arguments implicate the validity of Nevada's entire statutory scheme and, thus, the validity of his conviction. Therefore, Fairse's claim is outside the scope of claims allowed in a motion to correct an illegal sentence, and without considering the merits of his claim, we conclude the district court did not err by denying Fairses motion. Accordingly, we

ORDER the judgment of the district court AFFIRMED.

Bulla, C.J.

Gibbons, J.

Westbrook, J.