Cogmon (Cecil) v. State

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requires a sentencing court to exercise its discretion and weigh the

appropriate factors for and against the habitual criminal statute before

adjudicating a person as a habitual criminal "); see also Arajakis v. State,

108 Nev. 976, 983, 843 P.2d 800, 805 (1992) ("NRS 207.010 makes no

special allowance for non-violent crimes or for the remoteness of

convictions."). We conclude that the district court did not abuse its

discretion by adjudicating appellant as a habitual criminal.

Appellant next argues that his sentence to life with the

possibility of parole after ten years in prison constitutes cruel and unusual

punishment. Regardless of its severity, a sentence that is within the

statutory limits is not 'cruel and unusual punishment unless the statute

fixing punishment is unconstitutional or the sentence is so unreasonably

disproportionate to the offense as to shock the conscience." Blume v.

State, 112 Nev. 472, 475, 915 P.2d 282, 284 (1996) (quoting CuIverson v.

State, 95 Nev. 433, 435, 596 P.2d 220, 221-22 (1979)); see also Harmelin v.

Michigan, 501 U.S. 957, 1000-01 (1991) (plurality opinion) (explaining that Eighth Amendment does not require strict proportionality between

crime and sentence; it forbids only an extreme sentence that is grossly

disproportionate to the crime). The sentence imposed is within the

parameters provided by the relevant statute, see NRS 207.010, and

appellant does not allege that the statute is unconstitutional. We are not

convinced that the sentence imposed is so grossly disproportionate to the

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crime and appellant's history of recidivism as to constitute cruel and

unusual punishment. See Ewing v. California, 638 U.S. 11, 29 (2003)

(plurality opinion). Having considered appellant's arguments and concluded that

no relief is warranted, we ORDER the judgment of conviction AFFIRMED.

Pitletta J. Pickering • ctaS J. J. Parraguirre Saitta

cc: Hon. David B. Barker, District Judge Jonathan E. MacArthur Attorney General/Carson City Clark County District Attorney Eighth District Court Clerk

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