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THREE-JUDGE PANEL NULLIFIES GUILTY PLEA Death Penalty Case had Faced Questions of Constitutionality By Glenn Puit, Las Vegas Review Journal, 10-30-02, P. 3B A death penalty hearing for the man accused of killing a 79-year-old woman fell apart Tuesday in a case that may challenge Nevada's system for imposing capital punishment. Authorities allege Anthony Dotson, 44, robbed and killed Las Vegas Doris Bair in 1999 to pay for a drug habit. But shortly before his case was to go to trial, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled juries, not judges, should issue death sentences. Days after the ruling was issued, Dotzon pleaded guilty to first-degree murder before District Judge Michael Cherry. Dotson did so knowing that under Nevada law, his case automatically would be sent to a three-judge panel to determine his punishment. His attorneys said at the time that given the Supreme Court ruling, Dotson no longer would be eligible for a death sentence. But prosecutors pushed to have a three-judge panel decide Dotson's fate. On Tuesday morning, the three-judge panel met in Cherry's courtroom despite the questions about constitutionality. But before the hearing began, the three-judge panel decided that when Dotson entered his guilty plea to first-degree murder, he had not been properly questioned regarding his intentions. When Dotson entered his guilty plea, he told Cherry that he waived his right to a jury trial, but Dotson was not asked whether he was waiving his right to have a jury determine his punishment. When asked Tuesday, Dotson said that despite the guilty plea, he was not willing to waive his right to have a jury determine his fate. Cherry then announced that all three judges had determined they were obligated to nullify Dotson's guilty plea. His case will go to trial. "It is in the best interest of the criminal justice system to have a jury trial go forward," Cherry said. If Dotson were convicted, the jury would determine punishment. Under Nevada law, a three-judge panel is used in two situations: When a jury deadlocks on a decision of life in prison or death, or when a defendant pleads guilty to murder but prosecutors insist that the defendant be sentenced to death. Tuesday's developments left prosecutors pleased that the three-judge panel and its constitutional questions no longer will be a part of Dotson's case. "We've eliminated a big issue," Chief Deputy District Attorney David Schwartz said. "We are now right back where we started." Dotson's attorneys objected to Dotson's guilty plea being tossed. Deputy Special Public Defender Daren Richards said no legal precedent existed for such an order. "He wants to plead guilty," Richards said of his client. "He always has." Richards said an appeal seeking legal relief for Dotson would be filed with the Nevada Supreme Court.
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