SOLID v. STATE (2018)

ORDER OF REVERSAL AND REMAND

This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction, pursuant to a jury trial, of conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, and murder with use of a deadly weapon. Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County; Valerie Adair, Judge.

Appellant argues that the district court committed structural error when it dismissed veniremembers before resolving his objections pursuant to Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). We agree.

We have held that the dismissal of veniremembers before a Batson hearing “ha[s] the same effect as a racially discriminatory peremptory challenge” and “constitutes structural error that [is] intrinsically harmful to the framework of the trial.” Brass v. State, 128 Nev. 748, 754, 291 P.3d 145, 149 (2012). In so holding, we noted our concerns that premature dismissal leaves the successful opponent of a peremptory challenge with limited recourse and may possibly “present the appearance of improper judicial bias.” Id. at 753 n.4, 754, 291 P.3d at 149 n.4, 149. While the State urges us to reconsider and apply harmless-error review, we conclude there are no compelling reasons to overturn our precedent. See Armenta–Carpio v. State, 129 Nev. 531, 535, 306 P.3d 395, 398 (2013) (“Under the doctrine of stare decisis, we will not overturn precedent absent compelling reasons for doing so.” (quotation marks and alterations omitted) ).

Here, the record demonstrates that defense counsel objected to the State's peremptory challenge of a veniremember, and that the district court dismissed the veniremember without first conducting a Batson hearing. Consistent with Brass, we conclude that the district court's premature dismissal of the challenged veniremember before conducting a Batson hearing constitutes structural error. Accordingly, we

ORDER the judgment of conviction REVERSED AND REMAND this matter to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this order.¹

FOOTNOTES

1.   In light of our conclusion in this matter, we need not reach