Nevada Revised Statutes 34.930 – ‘Newly discovered evidence’ defined
‘Newly discovered evidence‘ means evidence that was not available to a petitioner at trial or during the resolution by the trial court of any motion to withdraw a guilty plea or motion for new trial and which is material to the determination of the issue of factual innocence, including, without limitation:
Terms Used In Nevada Revised Statutes 34.930
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
- Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
1. Evidence that was discovered before or during the applicable period for any direct appeal or postconviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to this chapter that served in whole or in part as the basis to vacate or reverse the petitioner’s conviction;
2. Evidence that supports the claims within a postconviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus that is pending at the time of the court’s determination of factual innocence pursuant to NRS 34.900 to 34.990, inclusive; or
3. Relevant forensic scientific evidence, other than the expert opinion of a psychologist, psychiatrist or other mental health professional, that was not available at the time of trial or during the resolution by the trial court of any motion to withdraw a guilty plea or motion for new trial, or that undermines materially forensic scientific evidence presented at trial. Forensic scientific evidence is considered to be undermined if new research or information exists that repudiates the foundational validity of scientific evidence or testimony or the applied validity of a scientific method or technique. As used in this subsection:
(a) ’Applied validity’ means the reliability of a scientific method or technique in practice.
(b) ’Foundational validity’ means the reliability of a scientific method to be repeatable, reproducible and accurate in a scientific setting.