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

• A detective investigated allegations of a teenage girl being molested by a male family member. The girl, J.J., reported that after being adopted by her grandmother and step-grandfather, she and her brother lived with them and the defendant, Jerry Trujillo, Jr. J.J. disclosed that Trujillo, Jr. had sexually molested her multiple times and showed her pornographic material. Another cousin, D.M., also reported being molested by Trujillo, Jr. Based on these allegations, a search warrant was issued for Trujillo, Jr.'s residence, where evidence including a pornographic magazine and a letter was seized (paras 2-12).

Procedural History

• District Court: The motion to suppress physical evidence was granted based on a lack of an express nexus between the criminal activity described and the address to be searched (para 13).
• Court of Appeals: Affirmed the suppression order in a memorandum opinion (para 13).
• Supreme Court of New Mexico: Reversed the Court of Appeals and remanded to the district court for further proceedings (para 35).

Parties' Submissions

• Plaintiff-Petitioner (State of New Mexico): Argued that the affidavit provided a substantial basis to support a finding of probable cause for the search warrant, emphasizing the need for deference to the issuing judge's determination (paras 14-33).
• Defendant-Respondent (Jerry Trujillo, Jr.): Contended that the search violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 10 of the New Mexico Constitution due to a lack of an explicit nexus in the affidavit between the place of the evidence and the place to be searched (para 13).

Legal Issues

• Whether the affidavit for the search warrant provided a substantial basis to support a finding of probable cause despite not explicitly connecting the place to be searched with the place where the evidence was located (paras 14-33).
• Whether the failure to file the Petition for Writ of Certiorari within the thirty-day deadline affects the Supreme Court's jurisdiction (para 34).

Disposition

• The Supreme Court of New Mexico reversed the Court of Appeals' decision and remanded to the district court for further proceedings, holding that the affidavit provided a substantial basis for the issuing judge to find probable cause for the search warrant (para 35).

Reasons

• Per RICHARD C. BOSSON, Justice (CHARLES W. DANIELS, Chief Justice, PATRICIO M. SERNA, Justice, PETRA JIMENEZ MAES, Justice concurring; EDWARD L. CHÁVEZ, Justice dissenting): The Court emphasized the need for deference to the issuing judge's determination of probable cause and highlighted that the affidavit, when read in a commonsense manner, provided a substantial basis for the search warrant. The Court distinguished this case from previous rulings by noting the detailed description of the residence and the specific allegations of criminal activity occurring there. The Court also addressed the jurisdictional argument regarding the timeliness of the Petition for Writ of Certiorari, finding the issue moot due to a prior notice accepting the writ as timely (paras 14-35).