AI Generated Opinion Summaries

Decision Information

Decision Content

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 involved in a physical altercation with a correctional officer at the San Juan County Detention Center. Video surveillance showed the officer in uniform interacting with the Defendant, who then punched the officer, resulting in visible injuries. The Defendant was charged with battery upon a peace officer (paras 2-3).

Procedural History

  • District Court: The Defendant was convicted of battery upon a peace officer (para 2).

Parties' Submissions

  • Defendant-Appellant: Argued that the jury was not properly instructed on the element of lawful discharge of duty, citing the standard from State v. Phillips, which was recently overruled by the New Mexico Supreme Court (para 1).
  • Plaintiff-Appellee: [Not applicable or not found]

Legal Issues

  • Whether the jury was properly instructed on the lawful discharge of duty in the context of battery upon a peace officer (para 1).

Disposition

  • The appeal was denied, and the conviction was affirmed (para 1).

Reasons

Per Duffy J. (Hanisee and Baca JJ. concurring): The court found that the jury instruction given at trial correctly set forth the lawful discharge standard as per the recent New Mexico Supreme Court decision in State v. Penman, which overruled the standard set in State v. Phillips. The court concluded that the jury was accurately instructed that the officer was performing duties within the scope of his employment, and thus, there was no fundamental error in the jury instructions (paras 1, 7-8).

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