Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in New Mexico Supreme Court
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The Supreme Court of the State of New Mexico affirmed a lower court's decision denying a defendant's motion to suppress evidence. The case involves Hugo Vasquez-Salas, a passenger in a car that was pulled over for a broken rear license-plate light. Upon approaching the vehicle, Officer Stacy noticed a partially open backpack containing bolt cutters, protective eyeglasses, gloves, and a face mask. After determining that the driver was an unlicensed minor, Officer Stacy asked Vasquez-Salas for his identifying information. Vasquez-Salas provided inconsistent answers about his age and was later found to have given a false name.The court held that the officer's inquiry into Vasquez-Salas's identifying information was permissible under both the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 10 of the New Mexico Constitution. The court found that Officer Stacy had reasonable suspicion to expand the investigation beyond the initial traffic stop based on the totality of the circumstances, which included the time of the stop, the items found in the backpack, the driver's and Vasquez-Salas's unusual behavior, the driver's status as an unlicensed minor, and Vasquez-Salas's false identifying information.The court further clarified that the primary inquiry under the Fourth Amendment in cases where the legality of the initial stop is uncontested is whether the officer's questions extended the time that a driver was detained, regardless of the questions’ content. The court also overruled a previous case, State v. Affsprung, which held that an officer's questions about a passenger's identifiers violated the Fourth Amendment because the officer had no reasonable suspicion that the passenger was engaged in criminal activity. The court stated that this holding no longer aligns with current Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. View "State v. Vasquez-Salas" on Justia Law

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In this case, the defendant, Jaime Veleta, was convicted of willful and deliberate first-degree murder, felony murder in the first-degree, kidnapping, conspiracy, and tampering with evidence. However, he was acquitted of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter. Veleta appealed his conviction arguing that the district court made several evidentiary errors, improperly instructed the jury, permitted the entry of inconsistent verdicts, and violated his double jeopardy rights by allowing the inconsistent verdicts to stand.The Supreme Court of the State of New Mexico disagreed with Veleta's arguments and affirmed the district court's decision. The court emphasized that only inconsistent convictions, not inconsistent verdicts, are reviewed. It also clarified that when the evidence is sufficient to support the verdict of conviction, the court will not speculate as to why the jury acquitted a defendant of other charges.The Court further ruled that there was no error in the district court's admission of evidence of Veleta's flight from New Mexico following the murder to demonstrate consciousness of guilt, and it also found no abuse of discretion in the district court's limitation on cross-examination of witnesses.The court also found no error in the stepdown instruction given to the jury, which directed the jury to consider each of the crimes in a certain order but also allowed the jury discretion to choose the manner and order in which they deliberated on these offenses.In regards to Veleta's double jeopardy claim, the court found that the double jeopardy clause was not implicated because there was neither multiple punishments nor successive prosecutions. The court concluded that in light of its conclusion that the district court did not err, there could be no cumulative error. View "State v. Veleta" on Justia Law

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This case arises from an incident in which Ricky Anthony Ayon was stopped by police while walking on the street. The police officer, recognizing Ayon from past encounters and knowing he had a warrant, immediately handcuffed Ayon and later discovered a small bag of a substance that tested positive for opiates. During a preliminary hearing, Ayon successfully argued that the police officer lacked reasonable suspicion to stop him, leading the district court to refuse to bind Ayon over for trial on a heroin possession charge. The Court of Appeals reversed this decision, leading to this appeal.The Supreme Court of the State of New Mexico held that a district court judge presiding over a preliminary hearing does not have the authority to decide whether evidence was obtained from an unconstitutional search or seizure. The Court remanded the case for proceedings consistent with this opinion. The Court reasoned that even though preliminary hearings and grand jury proceedings have different procedures and afford different rights to the defendant, they share a common goal of providing a neutral evaluation of whether the state has demonstrated probable cause to prosecute a serious crime. Additionally, the Court noted that allowing suppression of evidence at the preliminary hearing stage would be largely duplicative and not necessary for effective screening, as a motion to suppress evidence could still be utilized to gain a pretrial ruling excluding the evidence and precluding a trial. The Court also held that the New Mexico Constitution does not provide the right at a preliminary hearing to exclude evidence obtained from an unconstitutional search or seizure. View "State v. Ayon" on Justia Law

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The New Mexico Supreme Court explained its reasoning for reversing a district court's denial of the State's motion for pretrial detention of Defendant Joe Anderson. Anderson had been charged with first-degree murder. Under Article II, Section 13 of the New Mexico Constitution, a defendant charged with a felony could be detained without bail prior to trial if the State demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence that: (1) the defendant was dangerous; and (2) no release conditions would reasonably protect the safety of any individual or the community. Here, the Court determined Defendant’s dangerousness was not disputed. At issue was the second prong of the pretrial detention inquiry: whether the State met its burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that no release conditions could reasonably protect any individual or the community. The Court found the State presented reliable evidence that Defendant had an extensive criminal history that included crimes of violence, failures to appear, violations of probation, new charges while on probation, committing felonies while incarcerated, knowingly possessing a firearm while a felon, and noncompliance with pretrial services requirements. The Court held the district court abused its discretion when it denied the State’s motion without properly weighing the required factors under Rule 5-409(F)(6). View "New Mexico v. Anderson" on Justia Law

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Petitioner Rufino Torres petitioned for habeas relief, contending the judgment and sentence which required him to serve consecutive, i.e., “stacked,” five-year terms of probation was illegal. Four different indictments were filed against Petitioner with sixteen crimes which occurred between June 1, 2010, and June 3, 2010. Petitioner received a twenty-seven year term of imprisonment, and there was no issue about whether the term of imprisonment imposed on each count was correct. The total term of twenty-seven years resulted from the fact that the district court imposed a sentence of incarceration for every crime charged in each case. Petitioner violated probation multiple times over the years following his sentencing. Acting pro se, on October 17, 2018, Petitioner filed a habeas corpus petition, asserting he was illegally sentenced, did not receive the proper credit calculations, and received ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court appointed an attorney to review the illegal sentence and credit calculation claims, but did not order the attorney to review the ineffective assistance of counsel claim. The district court entered a procedural order on Petitioner’s petition for habeas corpus in which the district court recalculated Petitioner’s credit for presentence confinement. Ultimately, the New Mexico Supreme Court granted habeas corpus relief. The district court’s order consolidating the four cases resulted in a single judgment and sentence. The Supreme Court reversed the district court because the February 21, 2017, order of discharge on suspended sentence, as amended, not only terminated Petitioner’s probation but also determined that Petitioner satisfied his criminal liability for the crimes charged, and discharged Petitioner from any obligation imposed by the judgment and sentence as of June 4, 2016. In addition, upon remand, the district court was directed to enter an amended judgment and sentence vacating two conspiracy convictions. View "Torres v. Santistevan" on Justia Law

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A jury found that Child-Respondent Antonio M. (Child) committed felony murder, attempted armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, child abuse, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The State charged Child as a participant in the fatal shooting of Fabian Lopez (Victim) at Frenger Park in Las Cruces. Uncontested evidence at Child’s adjudicatory hearing established that M.M. and two other participants killed Victim in his car in the course of a drug deal. During opening statements and closing arguments, defense counsel’s theory of the case was that the State could not present sufficient evidence of Child’s participation in the crime and that the robbery and resulting homicide were unplanned and unintended results of a simple drug purchase. Defense counsel did not challenge Child’s presence in the car that transported M.M. to and from the park. On appeal, Child challenged the admission of three in-court identifications under federal and state due process. The Court of Appeals reversed for plain error, finding that the in-court identifications were impermissibly suggestive and thereby violated Child’s due process right to a fair trial under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The New Mexico Supreme Court determine that identity was not at issue regarding the testimony of the three relevant witnesses and thus that Child’s due process rights were not violated by the relevant in-court identifications. Accordingly, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals. View "New Mexico v. Antonio M." on Justia Law

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Defendant Franklin Begaye was convicted of nonresidential burglary and breaking and entering. He contended these convictions violated his right to be free from double jeopardy. The district court determined that the nonresidential burglary and breaking and entering charges did not violate double jeopardy. The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court. The New Mexico Supreme Court concluded that its guidance in New Mexico v. Porter, 476 P.3d 1201, resolved the issue, this appeal indicated that confusion persisted within the Court's double jeopardy jurisprudence warranting further clarification. The Court concluded here that Defendant’s right to be free from double jeopardy was violated when he was convicted for both breaking and entering and nonresidential burglary because the underlying conduct was unitary and, under the State’s theory, the burglary offense subsumed the breaking and entering offense. “[I]f we determine that one of the offenses subsumes the other offense, the double jeopardy prohibition is violated, and punishment cannot be had for both.” Accordingly, the judgment was reversed and the case remanded for further proceedings. View "New Mexico v. Begaye" on Justia Law

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A jury convicted Petitioner Mario Rudolfo of first-degree murder under a general verdict. The jury instructions contained two alternative theories for the jury to use as a basis for the first-degree murder conviction: (1) felony murder predicated on shooting at or from a motor vehicle and (2) willful and deliberate murder. Twelve years after Petitioner’s conviction, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued New Mexico v. Marquez, 376 P.3d 815, holding that “the crime of shooting at or from a motor vehicle may not serve as the predicate felony in support of a felony murder charge.” Appealing, Petitioner argued the Marquez holding applied retroactively and argued his conviction had to be vacated. The NEw Mexico Supreme Court held that Marquez announced a new substantive rule which applied retroactively. As a result, the Court set aside the district court’s denial of Petitioner’s writ of habeas corpus, vacated Petitioner’s first-degree murder conviction, and remanded the case for a new trial on first-degree murder. View "Rudolfo v. Steward" on Justia Law

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Defendant Michael Romero alleged that his Sixth Amendment right to a fair and impartial jury was violated because one of his jurors revealed during voir dire that he knew the investigator in the case. Defendant did not inquire into the juror’s potential bias during jury selection, did not challenge the juror for cause, did not use an available peremptory challenge on the juror, and did not otherwise object to the juror during jury selection. The New Mexico Supreme Court concluded that the juror’s statements did not violate Defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury, and that Defendant both failed to preserve and waived any objection to the juror’s alleged bias. View "New Mexico v. Romero" on Justia Law

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Defendant Christopher Rodriguez pleaded guilty to felony offenses committed when he was sixteen years old under a plea and disposition agreement, and following an amenability hearing, the district court imposed an adult sentence. Defendant appealed the amenability determination, and on its own motion, the Court of Appeals held that under the plea and disposition agreement, Defendant waived his right to appeal. The New Mexico Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine whether a juvenile waives the right to appeal an amenability determination by entering into a plea and disposition agreement. To this, the Court held that the right was not waived, reversed the Court of Appeals, and remanded the case to the Court of Appeals to decide Defendant’s appeal on the merits. View "New Mexico v. Rodriguez" on Justia Law