Cite as: Koller v. State
122 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 20
March 16, 2006
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA
No. 43737
JAMES KOLLER,
Appellant,
vs.
THE STATE OF NEVADA AND LEON ABERASTURI, LYON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY,
Respondents.
Appeal from a district court order granting a writ of prohibition. Third Judicial District Court, Lyon County; Robert E. Estes, Judge.
Reversed and remanded.
Wayne A. Pederson, Public Defender, Lyon County, for Appellant.
George Chanos, Attorney General, Carson City; Leon A. Aberasturi, District Attorney, and Eileen Barnett, Deputy District Attorney, Lyon County, for Respondents.
BEFORE DOUGLAS, BECKER and PARRAGUIRRE, JJ.
OPINION
In this appeal, we address the justice court's jurisdiction to hear a motion to dismiss a felony complaint for violations of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (IAD)[1] and NRS 171.070.[2] We conclude that the justice court has jurisdiction to hear a motion to dismiss a felony complaint for violations of both the IAD and NRS 171.070. Thus, we reverse the district court's decision and remand for the district court to vacate its writ. The justice court may then determine the merits of appellant's motion to dismiss.
FACTS
The appellant, James Koller, was served with a temporary restraining order after going uninvited to the home of a woman with whom he had previously had a romantic relationship. The woman later extended the restraining order, which Koller subsequently violated by sending various threatening emails to the woman over a three-month period. Koller was a California resident at the time he violated the restraining order, and he was first charged and sentenced in California for the violations.
Koller was also charged in the justice court in Lyon County, Nevada, with five counts of violating an extended order for protection against stalking, a class C felony, and nine counts of violating a temporary order for protection against stalking, a gross misdemeanor. During January and February 2003, while incarcerated in California, Koller made several requests under the IAD for final disposition of the pending Nevada charges. In March 2003, the State requested that California detain Koller for disposition in Nevada. California advised the State that Koller was available for disposition in Nevada, and in August 2003, the State filed a request for temporary custody with California.[3]
Koller was paroled in California in October or November 2003. He was then extradited to Nevada, where he moved to dismiss the criminal complaint in the justice court. He argued that the complaint should be dismissed because (1) the State did not act within the statute of limitations prescribed by the IAD; and (2) under NRS 171.070, the complaint was barred as a multiple prosecution.[4] The State did not substantively oppose Koller's motion. Instead, the State argued that the justice court did not have jurisdiction to hear the motion to dismiss because the underlying criminal charges were felonies and gross misdemeanors (collectively â€
