Nevada Supreme Court
Jerry Harkins, Appellant v. the State of Nevada, Respondent
October 12, 2006122 Nev. 974
Summary
The court affirmed Harkins's first-degree murder conviction, holding that the victim's statement during a 911 call was admissible as a dying declaration and was not testimonial under the Confrontation Clause. The court also held that the district court gave an erroneous apparent-danger self-defense instruction, but the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because other instructions correctly placed the burden on the State and the evidence supported finding Harkins was the initial aggressor. No separate opinions were filed.
Holding
- Admission of Deriso's statement during the 911 call. The statement was admissible because it was a dying declaration recognized as an exception to the Sixth Amendment confrontation right, and it was also nontestimonial because it was made during an ongoing emergency for the primary purpose of enabling police assistance.
- Apparent-danger self-defense instruction. The district court erred by instructing the jury that it may find Harkins not guilty if it found reasonable apparent danger, rather than directing that it must acquit if the State failed to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt, but the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
Docket 45024
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