AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

• The Defendant was convicted of one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor, twelve counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor (13-18), and one count of bribery of a witness following a seven-day trial (para 2).

Procedural History

• [Not applicable or not found]

Parties' Submissions

• Appellant (Defendant): Argued that his right to due process was violated due to the manner in which victims were questioned by law enforcement, his right to equal protection was infringed by the court's refusal to grant additional peremptory challenges, he was denied an impartial jury due to the court's handling of a biased juror, and challenged the admission of certain evidence as lacking foundational relevance. Additionally, claimed cumulative error based on these issues (paras 3, 5, 7, 12, 15).
• Appellee (State of New Mexico): The specific arguments of the Appellee are not detailed in the decision, but it can be inferred that the State defended the trial court's decisions and opposed the Defendant's arguments for reversal (para 1).

Legal Issues

• Whether the Defendant's right to due process was violated by the questioning method of the victims by law enforcement (para 3).
• Whether the Defendant's right to equal protection was infringed by the district court's refusal to afford him additional peremptory challenges (para 5).
• Whether the Defendant was denied the right to an impartial jury due to the district court's handling of a biased juror (para 7).
• Whether the admission of certain evidence violated evidentiary standards, impacting the Defendant's right to a fair trial (para 12).
• Whether the Defendant's convictions should be reversed based on cumulative error (para 15).

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's decisions on all issues raised by the Defendant (para 16).

Reasons

• DUFFY, Judge (with HENDERSON, Judge and BACA, Judge concurring): The court found the Defendant's arguments unpersuasive. It noted the Defendant failed to demonstrate how the investigation's conduct amounted to a due process violation or that the evidence admitted was improper. The court also held that the Defendant was not entitled to additional peremptory challenges as the charges did not carry a life sentence. Regarding the biased juror, the court found no fundamental error as the juror was dismissed and there was no evidence the remaining jurors were biased. The court further held that the Defendant did not meet the burden of demonstrating error in the admission of photographic evidence, noting the relevance of the photos to the charges. Lastly, the court concluded there was no cumulative error as the Defendant failed to establish any individual error (paras 3-15).