1. The court shall dismiss a petition if the court determines that:

(a) The petitioner’s conviction was upon a plea of guilty or guilty but mentally ill and the petition is not based upon an allegation that the plea was involuntarily or unknowingly entered or that the plea was entered without effective assistance of counsel.

(b) The petitioner’s conviction was the result of a trial and the grounds for the petition could have been:

(1) Presented to the trial court;

(2) Raised in a direct appeal or a prior petition for a writ of habeas corpus or postconviction relief; or

(3) Raised in any other proceeding that the petitioner has taken to secure relief from the petitioner’s conviction and sentence,

unless the court finds both cause for the failure to present the grounds and actual prejudice to the petitioner.

2. A second or successive petition must be dismissed if the judge or justice determines that it fails to allege new or different grounds for relief and that the prior determination was on the merits or, if new and different grounds are alleged, the judge or justice finds that the failure of the petitioner to assert those grounds in a prior petition constituted an abuse of the writ.

3. Pursuant to subsections 1 and 2, the petitioner has the burden of pleading and proving specific facts that demonstrate:

(a) Good cause for the petitioner’s failure to present the claim or for presenting the claim again; and

(b) Actual prejudice to the petitioner.

The petitioner shall include in the petition all prior proceedings in which the petitioner challenged the same conviction or sentence.

4. The court may dismiss a petition that fails to include any prior proceedings of which the court has knowledge through the record of the court or through the pleadings submitted by the respondent.

(Added to NRS by 1985, 1232; A 1989, 457; 1995, 2465; 2003, 1478; 2007, 1435)