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, Darian Rashaud Bashir, was convicted of first-degree deliberate intent murder following the fatal shooting of Jackson Weller, a student and baseball player at the University of New Mexico. The incident occurred after a night of socializing in Albuquerque, where Weller got involved in a physical altercation outside an after-hours restaurant. Bashir, who was not part of the initial altercation, approached Weller and another individual, asked them to walk with him, and then shot Weller in the chest, leading to Weller's death. The defense argued that Bashir did not plan to shoot Weller and that Weller provoked Bashir by using a racial slur (paras 2-5).

Procedural History

• [Not applicable or not found]

Parties' Submissions

• Plaintiff-Appellee (State of New Mexico): Argued that the Defendant was rightfully convicted based on the evidence presented at trial, including eyewitness testimony and surveillance video. The State contended that the Defendant's actions were premeditated and resulted in the deliberate intent murder of the Victim.
• Defendant-Appellant (Darian Rashaud Bashir): Raised issues regarding the district court’s evidentiary rulings, alleged bias of the district court, and cumulative error that deprived him of a fair trial. The defense argued that the Victim provoked the Defendant by using a racial slur, which should have been considered in evaluating the Defendant's state of mind and potential for a lesser verdict of voluntary manslaughter (paras 1, 6).

Legal Issues

• Whether the district court made improper evidentiary rulings.
• Whether there was bias on the part of the district court in misstating the facts of the case at sentencing.
• Whether cumulative error deprived the Defendant of a fair trial (para 1).

Disposition

• The Supreme Court of New Mexico affirmed the Defendant’s convictions for first-degree deliberate intent murder and tampering with evidence (para 20).

Reasons

• The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice C. Shannon Bacon, found that the issues raised by the Defendant were either well-settled under New Mexico law or manifestly without merit. The Court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in its evidentiary rulings, particularly regarding the exclusion of a retweet and testimony about the Victim's alleged use of a racial slur, due to lack of proper authentication and relevance. The Court also found no evidence of judicial bias at sentencing, noting that adverse rulings alone do not imply bias without showing extrajudicial conduct, which was not present in this case. Lastly, the Court concluded that the doctrine of cumulative error did not apply as there was no error shown in the proceedings. Justices Michael E. Vigil, David K. Thomson, Julie J. Vargas, and Briana H. Zamora concurred with the decision (paras 6-20).