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 stopped by Officer Kathleen Lucero of the Isleta Police Department after failing to maintain his lane and not using his turn signal when turning into a casino parking lot. This led to his arrest and conditional guilty plea to aggravated DWI.

Procedural History

• [Not applicable or not found]

Parties' Submissions

• Defendant-Appellant: Argued that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress due to an alleged lack of reasonable suspicion for the stop. Additionally, claimed that Officer Lucero lacked authority to enforce the New Mexico Traffic Code because she was not commissioned by the Chief of the New Mexico State Police.
• Plaintiff-Appellee: Contended that the stop was valid based on the Defendant's failure to maintain his lane and use a turn signal, which justified reasonable suspicion. Also argued that Officer Lucero had the authority to enforce state law, being commissioned by the sheriff of Bernalillo County.

Legal Issues

• Whether the district court erred in denying the Defendant's motion to suppress based on an alleged lack of reasonable suspicion to make the stop.
• Whether Officer Lucero lacked authority to enforce the New Mexico Traffic Code due to not being commissioned by the Chief of the New Mexico State Police.

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment and sentence filed after the Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to aggravated DWI.

Reasons

• Per Michael E. Vigil, J. (Michael D. Bustamante, J., and Roderick T. Kennedy, J., concurring):
  The Court found that the district court did not err in denying the Defendant's motion to suppress. The decision was based on the precedent set by State v. Hubble, which allows for a stop even in the absence of immediate traffic, provided the officer's decision to stop is based on observed violations. The Court also determined that Officer Lucero had the authority to enforce state law, as she was commissioned by the sheriff of Bernalillo County, which is in accordance with NMSA 1978, Section 29-1-11(G). This statutory interpretation was favored over the Defendant's argument that a state police commission was mandatory for enforcing the New Mexico Traffic Code.