OPINION VIGIL , Justice . {1} Laticia May Lucero (Baby) died on June 9th, 2010, just 47 days after she was born to Mother and Jadrian "Jay" Lucero 1 (Defendant). Baby's autopsy revealed that she died as a result of "devastating brain injuries," the type of injuries one might expect after being ejected from a vehicle in a high-speed collision or falling from a third-story window and landing on one's head. During the investigation into Baby's death, Defendant told law enforcement that Baby...
OPINION BARBARA J. VIGIL , Justice . I. INTRODUCTION {1} The Pueblo of San Felipe (Pueblo) appeals from an opinion of the New Mexico Court of Appeals declining to extend the Pueblo, an Indian tribe, immunity from suit. Because it is settled federal law that sovereign Indian tribes enjoy immunity from suit in state and federal court—absent waiver or abrogation by Congress—we reverse the Court of Appeals with instructions for the district court to dismiss the suit for lack of subject...
OPINION CHARLES W. DANIELS , Chief Justice . { 1} Rule 11-410 NMRA of the New Mexico Rules of Evidence provides that evidence of a nolo contendere plea made in settlement of a criminal proceeding is not admissible in a civil proceeding against the defendant who made the plea. See Rule 11-410(A)(2). Like the federal counterpart rule from which this rule was taken, the rule is meant to promote the efficient disposition of criminal cases because collateral use of pleas, as admissions of...
OPINION EDWARD L. CH VEZ , Justice . { 1} May the Secretary of State place on the general election ballot the names of political party nominees to fill a vacancy created by a district court judge who resigns effective after a primary election but more than fifty-six days prior to the general election The answer is yes, because under NMSA 1978, Section 1-8-8(A) (2015), the vacancy occurs for a public office that is not included in the governor's election proclamation, and pursuant to...
OPINION VIGIL , Justice . I. INTRODUCTION {1} The underlying claim giving rise to this controversy constitutes a collateral attack, requiring us to determine whether it is apparent on the face of a 1948 quiet title judgment that the district court, which entered said judgment, affirmatively lacked jurisdiction over certain parties because they were notified by publication. It is alleged that in the 1948 lawsuit such notice violated the Due Process Clause, depriving the district court of...
OPINION CH VEZ , Justice . {1} Defendant Jennifer Stephenson placed her two-year-old son Isaiah in his room at bedtime and locked the door for the night. Isaiah's father heard Isaiah whimpering the next morning and found him with his legs pinned between a dresser and a crossbar on Isaiah's bed. Isaiah developed a painful condition described as compartment syndrome, which required an aggressive surgery to correct. A jury convicted Defendant of one count of abandonment of a child resulting...
OPINION VIGIL , Justice . I. INTRODUCTION {1} Defendant Jason Bailey appeals his conviction for second-degree criminal sexual contact of a minor pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 30-9-13(B) (2004). Defendant argues that admission of evidence of his uncharged conduct was improper under Rule 11-404(B)(1) NMRA and Rule 11-403 NMRA. Because the other-act evidence that Defendant objects to was properly admitted for the purpose of demonstrating Defendant's intent under Rule 11-404(B)(2), and the...
OPINION VIGIL , Justice . {1} Laticia May Lucero (Baby) died on June 9th, 2010, just 47 days after she was born to Mother and Jadrian "Jay" Lucero 1 (Defendant). Baby's autopsy revealed that she died as a result of "devastating brain injuries," the type of injuries one might expect after being ejected from a vehicle in a high-speed collision or falling from a third-story window and landing on one's head. During the investigation into Baby's death, Defendant told law enforcement that Baby...
OPINION NAKAMURA , Justice . {1} Patricia Garcia, a fifty-two-year-old teacher, induced Page Kent, an eighty-four-year-old widower, to believe that she was his loving partner and thereby gained access to his bank accounts and depleted over $50,000 of his life's savings. A jury convicted Garcia of Fraud, in violation of NMSA 1978, Section 30-16-6 (2006), and Computer Access with Intent to Defraud, in violation of NMSA 1978, Section 30-45-3 (2006). The Court of Appeals reversed, finding...
OPINION NAKAMURA , Justice . {1} In this case, we are called upon for the first time to interpret the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), NMSA 1978, 10-16C-1 to -6 (2010), to resolve a single issue: Does the WPA allow a state employee to assert a claim against a state officer in the officer's individual capacity Mary Herrera, when acting as the Secretary of State, terminated the employment of two employees of the Secretary of State's office, James Flores and Manny Vildasol. In...
OPINION DANIELS , Chief Justice . {1} Rule 11-410 NMRA of the New Mexico Rules of Evidence provides that evidence of a nolo contendere plea made in settlement of a criminal proceeding is not admissible in a civil proceeding against the defendant who made the plea. See Rule 11-410(A)(2). Like the federal counterpart rule from which this rule was taken, the rule is meant to promote the efficient disposition of criminal cases because collateral use of pleas, as admissions of party-...
This decision was not selected for publication in the New Mexico Appellate Reports. Please see Rule 12-405 NMRA for restrictions on the citation of non-precedential dispositions. Please also note that this electronic decision may contain computer-generated errors or other deviations from the official paper version filed by the Supreme Court. DECISION MAES , Justice . {1} In Albert Jose Ramirez' (Defendant) first appeal to this Court, we reversed Defendant's conviction and remanded to the...
OPINION JUDITH K. NAKAMURA , Justice . {1} Lenard E. Noice (Noice) worked as a conductor for Petitioner BNSF Railway Company (BNSF). He fell from a BNSF train that was moving at speed and perished. The Respondent, Lenard Noice II, acting as personal representative for Noice (the Estate), filed a wrongful death action against BNSF under the Federal Employee's Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. 51-60 (2012), asserting, among other claims, that BNSF negligently permitted the train from which...
OPINION CH VEZ , Justice . {1} May the Secretary of State place on the general election ballot the names of political party nominees to fill a vacancy created by a district court judge who resigns effective after a primary election but more than fifty-six days prior to the general election The answer is yes, because under NMSA 1978, Section 1-8-8(A) (2015), the vacancy occurs for a public office that is not included in the governor's election proclamation, and pursuant to Article VI,...
OPINION VIGIL , Justice . I. INTRODUCTION {1} The underlying claim giving rise to this controversy constitutes a collateral attack, requiring us to determine whether it is apparent on the face of a 1948 quiet title judgment that the district court, which entered said judgment, affirmatively lacked jurisdiction over certain parties because they were notified by publication. It is alleged that in the 1948 lawsuit such notice violated the Due Process Clause, depriving the district court of...
OPINION VIGIL , Justice . I. INTRODUCTION {1} Defendant Jason Bailey appeals his conviction for second-degree criminal sexual contact of a minor pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 30-9-13(B) (2004). Defendant argues that admission of evidence of his uncharged conduct was improper under Rule 11-404(B)(1) NMRA and Rule 11-403 NMRA. Because the other-act evidence that Defendant objects to was properly admitted for the purpose of demonstrating Defendant's intent under Rule 11-404(B)(2), and the...
OPINION EDWARD L. CH VEZ , Justice . { 1} Defendant Anthony Samora was accused of luring a sixteen-year-old male into his truck by deception, driving him to a secluded location in Albuquerque, and then forcibly penetrating him in the anus. A jury convicted Defendant of second-degree criminal sexual penetration in the commission of a felony (CSP-felony), contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 30-9-11(E)(5) (2007, amended 2009), and first-degree kidnapping, contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 30-4-1(A)(...
OPINION BARBARA J. VIGIL , Justice . { 1} In 2004 Lucas Trammell (Defendant) pled guilty, in part, to false imprisonment of a minor victim. At the time, a conviction of false imprisonment of a minor victim required that Defendant register as a sex offender under the New Mexico Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), NMSA 1978, 29-11A-1 to -10 (1995, as amended through 2000). Defendant's attorney failed to realize that Defendant's plea included a sex offense requiring...
OPINION CH VEZ , Justice . {1} Defendant Jennifer Stephenson placed her two-year-old son Isaiah in his room at bedtime and locked the door for the night. Isaiah's father heard Isaiah whimpering the next morning and found him with his legs pinned between a dresser and a crossbar on Isaiah's bed. Isaiah developed a painful condition described as compartment syndrome, which required an aggressive surgery to correct. A jury convicted Defendant of one count of abandonment of a child resulting...
This decision was not selected for publication in the New Mexico Appellate Reports. Please see Rule 12-405 NMRA for restrictions on the citation of non-precedential dispositions. Please also note that this electronic decision may contain computer-generated errors or other deviations from the official paper version filed by the Supreme Court. DECISION CH VEZ , Justice . {1} Defendant Rigoberto Rodriguez was convicted of multiple felony counts for his participation in a double murder. A...
