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Polson v. State12/11/1992
a statute is the factor which controls its interpretation. Thompson v. District Court, 100 Nev. 352, 354, 683 P.2d 17, 19 (1984).
NRS 484.817 and NRS. 171.102 were amended in 1983 to allow for citation-complaints to be made upon declarations that are subject to the penalty of perjury. 1983 Nev. Stats. ch. 188, §§ 1, 3, at 446-47. Prior to amendment, a complaint required a sworn oath before a magistrate. Id. The legislature clearly intended that in misdemeanor traffic cases arising under NRS chapter 484, the filing of a citation could replace the more burdensome procedure required for the filing of a complaint. It
[108 Nev. 1044, Page 1048]
follows reasonably that the legislature intended for an officer to be able to make the required declaration on the face of the citation. Any other interpretation of the statutes would require the officer to make a separate oath or affirmation, exactly what was required under the previous statute, and would defeat the apparent purpose of the amendment.
Thus, it appears that: (1) the legislature intended to allow the use of citation-complaints in misdemeanor traffic cases; (2) misdemeanor citations must be made “in the form of a complaint;” and (3) complaints may be made upon declaration under penalty of perjury. The logical and reasonable conclusion is that citation-complaints issued for NRS chapter 484 misdemeanors require a declaration under penalty of perjury. We, therefore, hold that NRS 171.102 requires a complaint to be sworn or attested, NRS 484.817 allows citation-complaints, and NRS 484.799 requires citation-complaints to be made upon declarations subject to the penalty of perjury.
Appellant's reliance on White v. State, 102 Nev. 153, 717 P.2d 45 (1986) is misplaced. In White, this court noted that a perjury charge may be sustained only where a false statement was made in a setting where an oath or affirmation is legally required, not merely authorized or permitted. White, 102 Nev. at 157, 717 P.2d at 48. White signed a sworn affidavit in support of a motion to elect participation in an alcohol abuse program where no Nevada statute required White to support his claim for eligibility under oath. Contrarily, as noted above, the statutory scheme in this case can only be interpreted to require a declaration under penalty of perjury in order for a citation to function as a complaint.
The citation at issue in this case was signed with a declaration that it was issued under penalty of perjury. It therefore meets the statutory requirements for a complaint under NRS 484.817 and 171.102. Consequently, we conclude that the municipal court had jurisdiction over appellant, and appellant's conviction was properly admitted at sentencing for enhancement purposes.
Appellant also contends that neither prior conviction was admissible under NRS 484.3792(2), which requires that prior offenses be “evidenced by a conviction.” Specifically, appellant argues that his prior judgments of conviction were never “entered” because, although they were signed by the judge, they were never filed by the clerk. Appellant's contention lacks merit.
As evidence of appellant's prior offenses, the state presented seven and eight page documents numbered 1 of 7, 2 of 7, 3 of 7,
[108 Nev. 1044, Page 1049]
etc. The front page of each document is file-stamped. The last page of each document is the court's judgment of conviction and order. Although the judgments of conviction in appellant's prior proceedings are not separately file-stamped, this court is mindful that “in evaluating the court records made in municipal court misdemeanor prosecutions, the realities of the typical environ
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