The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled a Clark County judge was “fundamentally unfair” when he revoked the probation of a defendant who tried his best but couldn’t meet the physical fitness goals of his boot camp program.
The three justice panel headed by Chief Justice Ron Parraguirre said it was a “due process violation” to revoke probation of a probationer who has made every effort to meet the requirements.
Mauricio Martinez was rejected from boot camp for not meeting specific fitness goals.
“The evidence and facts before the district court suggest Martinez’s conduct was commendable: in his 156 days in boot camp, he had no disciplinary issues, lost 100 pounds and reduced his timed two-mile run from more than 30 minutes to 18 minutes.”
He failed the camp because the goal set was to run two miles in 15 minutes and perform at least one pull-up.
The district court, the justices ruled, revoked probation without any finding Martinez’s conduct was not up to requirements.
“The district court thus abused its discretion in revoking Martinez’s probation,” the order states.
The justices ordered the case back to Clark County District Judge Douglas Herndon for a new revocation hearing to consider Martinez’s conduct rather than the results of the physical test.