Can a juvenile get life in prison for a crime in Nevada?

Q: Can a juvenile get life in prison for a crime in Nevada?

Yes, but only if there is the possibility of parole. People convicted in Nevada criminal court of crimes they committed while under 18 years old may never be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. If the crime did not result in a death, parole eligibility begins after 15 years in prison. If the crime resulted in one death, parole eligibility begins after 20 years in prison.

Q: Can courts ever sentence defendants to life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles?

Yes, but Nevada's juvenile justice law changed in 2015 with the passage of Assembly Bill 267. In line with recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, this new Nevada law prohibits courts from imposing life without parole sentences to juvenile offenders - even if they are adults by the time they get sentenced. In addition, the law requires courts when making its sentencing decision to consider how juveniles have less culpability than adults. As for defendants who had already been sentenced prior to this bill to life without parole for crimes they committed as juveniles, courts have the discretion to commute their sentences to life with parole. Note that defendants convicted of multiple non-homicide offenses committed as juveniles must also be offered parole if their sentences essentially add up to a prison term of life without parole.

Posted on February 9, 2021

Young hand reaching through barb wire fence — Defendants sentenced to life for crimes they committed as juveniles must be offered parole.

Yes, but only if there is the possibility of parole. People convicted in Nevada criminal court of crimes they committed while under 18 years old may never be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. If the crime did not result in a death, parole eligibility begins after 15 years in prison. If the crime resulted in one death, parole eligibility begins after 20 years in prison.

Can courts ever sentence defendants to life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles?

Not anymore. Nevada’s juvenile justice law changed in 2015 with the passage of Assembly Bill 267. In line with recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, this new Nevada law prohibits criminal courts from imposing life without parole sentences to juvenile offenders – even if they are adults by the time they get sentenced. In addition, the law requires courts when making its sentencing decision to consider how juveniles have less culpability than adults.¹

As for defendants who had already been sentenced prior to this bill to life without parole for crimes they committed as juveniles, courts have the discretion to commute their sentences to life with parole.²

Note that defendants convicted of multiple non-homicide offenses committed as juveniles must also be offered parole if their sentences essentially add up to a prison term of life without parole.³

How soon must these defendants be given the possibility of parole?

It depends on the case. If no death resulted, there must be a parole hearing after 15 years of prison. If one death resulted, there must be a parole hearing after 20 years of prison. Nevada law does not give guidelines on when to offer parole if more than one death occurred.⁴

Note that in 2017, the Nevada Legislature passed Assembly Bill 218 that permits courts to reduce these defendants’ mandatory minimum sentence by 35% after taking into consideration their age and rehabilitation prospects.⁵

When are juveniles tried as adults in Nevada?

People under 18 years old who allegedly break the law are typically charged in juvenile court. But juveniles can be certified as adults and transferred to regular criminal court in certain circumstances:

Juveniles of any age facing murder charges must be transferred to adult court.

Juveniles aged 16 or 17 must be transferred to adult court if the charges are for sexual assault or a firearm crime unless there is clear and convincing evidence that either:

The child has substance abuse or behavior problems that can be treated in juvi court; or
The child’s mental incompetence precludes him/her from understanding the situation

Finally, judges have the discretion to certify minors 14 or older who allegedly committed a felony.⁶

Note that defendants convicted of crimes committed as juveniles can never be given the death penalty.⁷

Young person crouching in a detention facility

It is unconstitutional for courts to impose a life without parole sentence to defendants who were juveniles when they committed the crime.

Which Nevada crimes carry life in prison?

The following serious crimes are category A felonies that potentially carry a sentence of life in state prison:

Procuring execution of innocent person by perjury or subornation of perjury (NRS 199.160)
First-degree murder and second-degree murder (NRS 200.030)
First-degree kidnapping (NRS 200.310)
Sexual assault (NRS 200.366)
Attempted killing by poison (NRS 200.390)
Battery with intent to commit a crime (NRS 200.400)
Involuntary servitude of minors (NRS 200.463)
Abuse, neglect, or endangerment of a child (NRS 200.508)
Producing child pornography (NRS 200.710)
Promoting child pornography (NRS 200.720)
Possessing child pornography (NRS 200.730)
Incest (NRS 201.180)
Lewdness with a child under 16 years (NRS 201.230)
Pandering and sex trafficking (NRS 201.300)
Sex with a human corpse (NRS 201.450)
Terrorism (NRS 202.445)
Certain acts related to weapons of mass destruction, lethal agents, toxins and delivery systems prohibited (NRS 202.446)
Habitual criminals (NRS 207.010) and habitual felons (NRS 207.012)
Unlawful to allow child to be present during commission of certain violations which involve controlled substances other than marijuana (NRS 453.3325).
Second or subsequent offense of sale of controlled substance to minor (NRS 453.334)
Commission of certain violations which involve controlled substances other than marijuana and result in death or substantial bodily harm to another person (NRS 453.3353)
Trafficking in controlled substances: Flunitrazepam, gamma-hydroxybutyrate and schedule I or II substances, except marijuana (NRS 453.3385)
Trafficking in controlled substances: Marijuana or concentrated cannabis (NRS 453.339)

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Legal References

NRS 176.025; see also Graham v. Florida (U.S. Supreme Court, 2010) 560 U.S. 48; see also Miller v. Alabama (2012) 132 S. Ct. 2455 (mandatory life sentence without parole sentences for juveniles violate the Eighth Amendment as cruel and unusual punishment) – the following states’ supreme courts held that Miller applied retroactively: Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and Wyoming; see also Montgomery v. Louisiana, (2017) 136 S. Ct. 718; see also Ken Ritter, 5 former teen offenders free in Nevada after changes in law, AP (July 31, 2017).
NRS 213.085 (Nevada AB 251 (2017)).
State v. Boston (Nevada Supreme Court, 2015) 131 Nev. 981, 363 P.3d 453; also Sean Whaley, Nevada Supreme Court limits life sentences for juveniles, Las Vegas Review-Journal (January 1, 2016).
NRS 176.025.
NRS 176.017.
NRS 62B.390; other states besides Nevada where juvenile jurisdiction ends before the defendant’s 18th birthday include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming.
The only Nevada crime that carries the death sentence is first-degree murder where the aggravating circumstances outweigh any mitigating circumstances.

About the Author

Neil Shouse

A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.