Nevada Supreme Court overturns murder conviction
CARSON CITY — The Nevada Supreme Court has reversed the first-degree murder conviction of a Las Vegas man after concluding that "significant irregularities" deprived him of a fair trial.
In reversing the conviction of Eugene Ross, the court specifically cited juror irregularities at his 2012 trial and the fact that he was not allowed to be tried separately from his co-defendant, Keith Coulter.
The court, in an unpublished order filed Wednesday, returned the case against Ross to Clark County District Court for further proceedings and said any retrial would have to be conducted separately.
Justices also noted that a letter exonerating Ross, which was written by Coulter while he was at the Clark County Detention Center on an unrelated charge, was improperly excluded from the trial. A five-member court majority said the statement was trustworthy and should have been admitted.
The ruling reversing the convictions for murder and multiple other charges was necessary because of the irregularities at trial, including an outburst by a juror, a juror's conversation with unknown individuals at a bar about contempt proceedings related to the outburst, and improper communication between Ross' mother and a juror, the court said.
That communication led to Ross' mother, Gina Dotson of California, being arrested and jailed on contempt charges.
Collectively, the irregularities undermined Ross' right to a fair trial, the court said.
Two justices dissented in part, agreeing with the need for a new trial but rejecting the suggestion that the Coulter letter, which was transformed into an affidavit, was improperly excluded at trial.
The convictions stemmed from an incident in 2006 in which Ross and Coulter were accused of entering an apartment belonging to Joseph Smalley, robbing the occupants and killing Smalley.
Both men were convicted of first-degree murder and other charges. Ross' mother testified at a penalty hearing on the murder charge. She was brought to the courthouse in chains and inmate clothing but was allowed to change clothes before testifying on her son's behalf.
Ross was sentenced to 20 to 50 years, the minimum for a first-degree murder conviction.
District Judge Michelle Leavitt presided over the murder trial, but the Supreme Court ruled that the case should be assigned to another judge for retrial.
Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801
