Defalco v. the State of Nevada

Summary

The Nevada Supreme Court affirmed Jessica De Falco's convictions for two counts of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon, two counts of battery with use of a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm, and duty to stop at the scene of a crash. As a matter of first impression, the court held that NRS 175.011(1)'s requirement of prosecutorial consent to a jury-trial waiver does not violate the separation of powers doctrine because the constitutional jury-trial right belongs to both the defendant and the State and the statute merely implements that constitutional mandate without conflicting with any procedural court rule. The court also held that circumstantial evidence permitted a rational juror to find the specific intent to kill despite De Falco's intoxication, and that there were no errors to accumulate. No separate writings were filed.