Adakai (Nathan) v. State

116 Nev. 307, 309-311, 998 P.2d 163, 164-65 (2000) (concluding that defendant's statements on the record constituted a waiver and obviated the need for the State to offer proof of his prior convictions); see also

Hodges v. State, 119 Nev. 479, 484, 78 P.3d 67, 70 (2003) (to satisfy due

process concerns prior to habitual criminal adjudication, It] here is less chance for mistakes or abuse of the stipulation process as long as a defendant must at least admit that he received specific prior convictions"). At the preliminary hearing, certified copies of the judgments of conviction and additional documents related to Adakai's two prior misdemeanor domestic battery convictions were admitted as exhibits; the additional documents establish the constitutional validity of the prior convictions. The criminal information filed in the district court listed the

two prior domestic battery convictions. At his arraignment, defense counsel informed the district court that Adakai was "going to be pleading to domestic battery, third offense." Upon questioning by the district court, Adakai admitted to receiving two prior domestic battery convictions. A review of the arraignment and plea canvass indicates that Adakai fully understood that he was pleading to third-offense domestic battery. The State did not offer copies of the prior judgments of conviction into evidence

at the arraignment, however, defense counsel informed the district court that she "reviewed them, your Honor, and I believe they're legally sufficient." At the sentencing hearing, there is no indication that the State offered copies of the prior judgments into evidence. Nevertheless, we conclude that Adakai's admission and defense counsel's statements

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constituted a waiver and stipulation to the proof of the two prior

convictions used for enhancement purposes. Therefore, we further

conclude that Adakai is not entitled to relief, and we

ORDER the judgment of conviction AFFIRMED. 1

/ J. Hardesty

Parraguirre

J.

cc: Hon. James Todd Russell, District Judge State Public Defender/Carson City Attorney General/Carson City Storey County District Attorney Storey County Clerk

'The fast track statement and response do not comply with NRAP 3C(h)(1) and NRAP 32(a)(4) because the text is not double-spaced. Counsel for the parties are cautioned that the failure to comply with the briefing requirements in the future may result in the imposition of sanctions. See NRAP 3C(n).

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