6 results for 'judge:"Vargas"'.
J. Vargas finds defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel was not violated when he signed a Miranda waiver outside the presence of his court-appointed attorney and police interviewed him about the charges against him to obtain "his side of the story." Defendant was read his Miranda rights before the interview and knowingly waived the rights, evidenced by the fact he discussed the potential of a police interview with the attorney. Affirmed.
Court: New Mexico Supreme Court, Judge: Vargas, Filed On: December 22, 2023, Case #: S-1-SC-38948, Categories: Constitution, Miranda
J. Vargas finds the appeals court erroneously reversed the lower court's order granting suppression of evidence during defendant's DUI case. Although the apprehension of a suspect in a nearby stabbing incident is undoubtedly important, defendant - who was not the perpetrator of the stabbing - was pulled over one mile from the crime scene more than 30 minutes after the stabbing, which made the traffic stop and subsequent search unreasonable. Reversed.
Court: New Mexico Supreme Court, Judge: Vargas, Filed On: October 30, 2023, Case #: S-1-SC-38642, Categories: Evidence, Search, Dui
J. Vargas finds petitioners are entitled to a writ of mandamus to prevent further distribution of federal funds by the governor under the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. Despite previous rulings regarding allocation of federal funds, no bright-line rule establishes whether such money falls under control of the executive or legislative branches; rather, this court must determine on a case-by-case basis whether specific funds are under the purview of the governor or the legislature. In this case, the broad discretion left to states in administering distribution of federal funds included in the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act requires the money be placed under the control of the legislature, as the governor would be unable to distribute the funds without infringing on the legislative branch's "constitutional duty to appropriate."
Court: New Mexico Supreme Court, Judge: Vargas, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: S-1-SC-38996, Categories: Constitution, Government, Covid-19
J. Vargas finds the appeals court properly overturned the trial court's denial of defendant's motion to suppress drugs discovered in a flashlight. Under controlling precedent, a purse is not considered part of a criminal suspect's person for the purposes of conducting a warrantless search upon arrest. At the time of the arrest, the purse was taken from defendant and was not within her immediate control, which prevented a search by the arresting officers, while it is unlikely the jail would have taken apart the flashlight upon defendant's booking, which prevents application of the inevitable discovery doctrine. Affirmed.
Court: New Mexico Supreme Court, Judge: Vargas, Filed On: September 18, 2023, Case #: S-1-SC-37277, Categories: Drug Offender, Search
J. Vargas finds that defendant's Fourth Amendment rights were not violated by the police officer who asked for his name and date of birth during a traffic stop. Although he was a passenger in the vehicle, the driver did not have a valid driver's license, which prompted the officer to see if defendant could drive the vehicle home, and made the questioning reasonable and legal. Additionally, defendant's rights under the New Mexico Constitution were not violated by the questions because the presence of bolt cutters, protective goggles and ski masks in the car gave the officer a reasonable suspicion criminal activity had or was likely to occur; therefore, the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress. Affirmed.
Court: New Mexico Supreme Court, Judge: Vargas, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: S-1-SC-38861, Categories: Burglary, Search
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J. Vargas finds the jury's decision to convict defendant on first-degree murder but acquit him on manslaughter and second-degree murder charges does not require reversal and a new trial. All of the elements of the first-degree charge were met; therefore, the jury's decision to acquit on other charges might have been the result of leniency or a mistake, but in either case, this court cannot speculate on its deliberations or ultimate verdicts. Affirmed.
Court: New Mexico Supreme Court, Judge: Vargas, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: S-1-SC-38169, Categories: Jury, Murder