http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stori ... 10280.html
Return to the referring page.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Las Vegas SUN


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 05, 2006

:P
By BRENDAN RILEY
ASSOCIATED PRESS

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - In a ruling that could mean more prison terms and less probation for illegal immigrants convicted of lesser crimes, the Nevada Supreme Court decided Thursday to reject an appeal from a man who got five years behind bars for selling drugs.

The high court's ruling against Salvador Ruvalcaba, a Mexican national, overturns a key section of a 1998 state Supreme Court ruling that held a trial judge can't consider a defendant's status as an illegal alien at sentencing because that would violate due process rights.

Justice Bill Maupin, who wrote the latest ruling, said the 1998 decision was based on two federal court rulings that, as it turned out, didn't actually deal with the issue of a criminal defendant's status as an alien.

Maupin added the Ruvalcaba case differs from the 1998 case because the Las Vegas judge who gave Ruvalcalba five years with possible parole after two years didn't sentence him "more harshly based upon ethnicity or nationality" or because of "any animus towards illegal aliens."

Rather, Clark County District Judge Don Mosley denied probation "because, as an illegal alien, Ruvalcaba would likely be deported if he received probation and would thus ultimately avoid punishment," Maupin wrote.

Maupin also said he agreed with a California appeals court ruling that illegal immigrant status is a legitimate factor to consider when deciding on probation. He also said Ruvalcalba had "repeated involvement in the sale of illicit drugs."

Ruvalcaba pleaded guilty in July 2004 to one count of sale of a controlled substance stemming from a seizure of contraband earlier that year.

Howard Brooks, former president of Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice and a chief deputy Clark County public defender, said the decision ignores the fact that deportation is a punishment - and could lead to prison terms for hundreds of low-level criminals who would otherwise get probation.

"We're talking big bucks here. There's an enormous financial impact from this decision," said Brooks, adding that the ruling could add millions of dollars to the annual cost of Nevada's prison system by locking up people who aren't usually imprisoned.

Brooks said the typical court practice in Nevada has been to grant probation in lesser criminal cases knowing that it won't be served because the illegal alien is going to be deported. That keeps low-level criminals out of the state's prisons - but also sets the stage for prison time "if they ever come back," he said.

The current practice serves a good public policy "by getting them out of the state," he added.

--



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Return to the referring page.
Las Vegas SUN main page


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Questions or problems? Click here.


All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.