Summary
The Nevada Supreme Court held that a detainer under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers must be a written request filed by a criminal justice agency with the institution where the prisoner is incarcerated, requesting that the prisoner be held or that the agency be notified of the prisoner’s imminent release. An NCIC database entry and an oral telephone request to add Washoe County to another county’s detainer did not constitute valid detainers, so the court affirmed denial of the defendant’s motion to dismiss.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether an entry of a criminal complaint or warrant in the NCIC database constitutes a detainer under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers.
- Whether an oral telephone request by a prosecuting jurisdiction to be added to another jurisdiction's detainer constitutes a detainer under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers.
- Whether Theis's request for final disposition triggered the Agreement's 180-day trial period and dismissal remedy for the Washoe County complaint.
Holdings
- A detainer must be a written request filed by a criminal justice agency with the institution in which the prisoner is incarcerated, asking that the prisoner be held for the agency or that the agency be advised when the prisoner's release is imminent.
- The NCIC entry did not constitute a detainer because it was not specifically filed with the institution in which Theis was incarcerated and did not request that Idaho hold him or notify Washoe County of his imminent release.
- The Washoe County telephone call to Idaho did not constitute a detainer because the Agreement requires a written request.
- The Agreement did not require dismissal because there was no proof that Washoe County had filed a valid detainer with the Idaho State Correctional Institution.
Key quotations
“We conclude that in order to best effectuate the purpose of the Agreement, a detainer must be a written request filed by a criminal justice agency with the institution in which a prisoner is incarcerated, asking that the prisoner be held for the agency, or that the agency be advised when the prisoner’s release is imminent.” (753)
Factual background
While incarcerated in Idaho after convictions for armed robbery, Nicholas Theis became the subject of a Washoe County complaint that was entered into the NCIC database. Elko County separately filed a formal written detainer with the Idaho prison, and Theis requested final disposition of the detainer and related Nevada charges. A Washoe County extradition officer later telephoned Idaho officials about adding Washoe County to Elko County's detainer, but no written Washoe County detainer was filed. After Theis was eventually transferred to Washoe County and charged, he moved to dismiss because the charges had not been tried within 180 days of his request under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers.
Procedural history
The district court held an evidentiary hearing and denied Theis's motion to dismiss, concluding that no detainer had been conclusively shown. Theis subsequently entered a guilty plea while preserving the issue for appeal. The Nevada Supreme Court affirmed the denial of the motion to dismiss.