Thursday, July 30, 2015 | 9:50 p.m.
The Nevada Supreme Court Thursday allowed Clark County prosecutors to continue their appeal of a murder conviction that was overturned by a district judge in Clark County.
A district court jury in October 2013 found Marianne Harris guilty of first-degree murder and child abuse in the beating death of her 14-month old granddaughter Dyon Johnson. Before the sentencing of Harris, District Judge Abbi Silver granted a new trial to Harris on grounds there was misconduct by the district attorney’s office.
The state appealed to the Supreme Court. Defense attorneys for Harris argued the state had no legal right to appeal a prejudgment decision for a new trial.
Justice Nancy Saitta, who wrote the unanimous decision, said Silver’s ruling was an intermediate order that can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
The court allowed both sides to file further briefs on whether the new-trial decision should be upheld.
Silver ruled that prosecutors made improper comments during the trial.
Prosecutors believe Harris used a metal pipe to beat the child more than 30 times, including inflicting a fatal skull fracture in August 2011. Defense lawyers argued it was the boyfriend of Harris that caused the wounds.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy