PER CURIAM:
The right to a jury trial under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution depends on whether an offense is "petty" or "serious." In this original proceeding, we consider whether certain collateral consequences of a conviction for first-offense domestic battery, such as an evidentiary presumption in child custody and dependency actions, limitations on the right to possess a firearm, and possible deportation, make it a serious offense for which a defendant is entitled to a jury trial. We conclude that petitioner Sergio Amezcua has not demonstrated that first-offense domestic battery is a serious offense. He therefore was not entitled to a jury trial on the misdemeanor charge of domestic battery.
Amezcua was charged with first-offense battery constituting domestic violence in justice court. He filed a timely notice for jury trial pursuant to NRS 175.011(2). The justice court denied the motion. Amezcua subsequently filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the district court, which was denied. He unsuccessfully challenged the district court's denial of that writ petition in a petition for a writ of mandamus or habeas corpus filed in this court. See Amezcua v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, Docket No. 59868 (Order Denying Petition, February 9, 2012). Thereafter, Amezcua was convicted of the charged offense in the justice court. On appeal, the district court affirmed the judgment of conviction. This petition for extraordinary relief followed.
A writ of mandamus may issue to compel the performance of an act which the law requires "as a duty resulting from an office, trust or station," NRS 34.160, or to control an arbitrary or capricious exercise of discretion, see Round Hill Gen. Improvement Dist. v. Newman, 97 Nev. 601, 603-04, 637 P.2d 534, 536 (1981). The writ will not issue, however, if a petitioner has a plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law. NRS 34.170. Here, Amezcua had a plain, speedy, and adequate remedy at law to address his claim. He appealed his conviction to the district court, which enjoys final appellate jurisdiction in cases arising from justice court, Nev. Const. art. 6, § 1, and raised the claim that the justice court erred in denying his request for a jury trial. He may not seek writ relief merely because he disagrees with the district court's determination. See Hosier v. State, 121 Nev. 409, 412, 117 P.3d 212, 213 (2005) (declining to exercise original jurisdiction over petition for extraordinary relief challenging the validity of a judgment of conviction); State v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court (Riker), 121 Nev. 225, 231, 112 P.3d 1070, 1074 (2005) (noting that the purpose of the writ is not to correct lower-court decisions that may be error). As a general rule, we will not entertain a writ petition that requests review of a district court decision when that court is acting in its appellate capacity unless the petitioner demonstrates that "the district court has improperly refused to exercise its jurisdiction, has exceeded its jurisdiction, or has exercised its discretion in an arbitrary or capricious manner." State v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court (Hedland), 116 Nev. 127, 134, 994 P.2d 692, 696 (2000). The petition filed in this case fits none of those exceptions. In similar circumstances we nevertheless have exercised our constitutional prerogative to entertain a writ
The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees an individual the right to a jury trial.
"[T]o determine whether the ... right to a jury trial attaches to a particular offense, the court must examine `objective indications of the seriousness with which society regards the offense.'" United States v. Nachtigal, 507 U.S. 1, 3, 113 S.Ct. 1072, 122 L.Ed.2d 374 (1993) (quoting Blanton v. N. Las Vegas, 489 U.S. 538, 541, 109 S.Ct. 1289, 103 L.Ed.2d 550 (1989)). The best objective indicator of the seriousness with which society regards an offense is the maximum penalty that the legislature has set for it. Id. Although a "penalty" may include things other than imprisonment, the focus for purposes of the right to a jury trial has been "`on the maximum authorized period of incarceration.'" Id. (quoting Blanton, 489 U.S. at 542, 109 S.Ct. 1289). Taking this approach, the Supreme Court has held that an offense for which the period of incarceration is six months or less is presumptively a "petty" offense and a jury trial is not constitutionally required. Id. We have reached the same conclusion. Blanton, 103 Nev. at 633-34, 748 P.2d at 500-01. The presumption may be overcome "only by showing that the additional penalties, viewed together with the maximum prison term, are so severe that the legislature clearly determined that the offense is a `serious' one." Nachtigal, 507 U.S. at 3-4, 113 S.Ct. 1072 (quoting Blanton, 489 U.S. at 543, 109 S.Ct. 1289).
Under Nevada law, first-offense domestic battery is a misdemeanor that has a maximum term of imprisonment of six months. NRS 200.485(1)(a)(1). First-offense domestic battery therefore is presumptively a petty offense to which no jury-trial right attaches. Amezcua bears the burden of proving that additional penalties, when considered with the maximum term of imprisonment, are so severe that they clearly reflect a legislative determination that first-offense domestic battery is a "serious" offense. Blanton, 489 U.S. at 543, 109 S.Ct. 1289.
Amezcua claims that various consequences of a conviction for domestic battery reflect a legislative determination that the offense is serious: (1) NRS 432B.157 and NRS 125C.230 create a rebuttable presumption that he, as a perpetrator of domestic violence, is unfit for sole or joint custody of his children; (2) he could lose the right to possess a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9); and (3) a conviction would render a noncitizen deportable under federal immigration law.
The additional penalties that Amezcua cites do not demonstrate a clear determination by the Nevada Legislature that first-offense domestic battery is a serious offense to which the jury-trial right attaches. The rebuttable presumptions set forth in NRS 432B.157 and NRS 125C.230 are concerned with the best interest of a child who is the subject of child protection or custody proceedings.
The only penalties that NRS 200.485(1) imposes, in addition to imprisonment, are a community-service requirement of not more than 120 hours and a fine of not more than $1,000. There is nothing so severe in those penalties, considered together, as to clearly indicate a determination by the Nevada Legislature that this is a serious offense to which the right to a jury trial attaches. Cf. Nachtigal, 507 U.S. at 5-6, 113 S.Ct. 1072 (concluding that federal DUI offense was not serious where maximum imprisonment was six months and statute included additional penalties such as $5,000 fine); Blanton, 489 U.S. at 544-45 & n. 9, 109 S.Ct. 1289 (concluding that DUI was petty offense under Nevada
We conclude that first-offense domestic battery is a "petty" offense to which the right to a jury trial does not attach. The petition therefore is denied.