Martinez v. Martinez

CourtDistrict Court, D. New Mexico
DecidedMarch 17, 2022
Docket2:19-cv-00235
StatusUnknown

This text of Martinez v. Martinez (Martinez v. Martinez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Mexico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Martinez v. Martinez, (D.N.M. 2022).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO STEVE GEORGE MARTINEZ, Petitioner,

vs. No. CIV 19-0235 JB/KRS RICHARD MARTINEZ, Respondent. MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the Petition Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody, filed March 18, 2019 (Doc. 1)(“Petition”). The Court will dismiss the Petition, because Petitioner Steve George Martinez is not entitled to relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND S. Martinez filed his Petition in this Court on March 18, 2019. See Petition at 1. In his

Petition, Martinez challenges his conviction and sentence in State of New Mexico cause no. D- 202-CR-2017-01282. See Petition at 1. The underlying facts, as described by S. Martinez’ defense counsel on direct appeal, are as follows: [O]n 18 March 2017, in the early morning, Mr. Martinez-Appellant was driving on Lomas Boulevard in the City of Albuquerque, County of Bernalillo, State of New Mexico. He approached a sobriety checkpoint. Rather than stopping Mr. Martinez drove through the checkpoint. According to officers’ testimony and the trial court’s order, Albuquerque Police Department (APD), Officer Jared Frazier was the first officer to make contact with Mr. Martinez as he proceeded through the checkpoint. Officer Frazier testified, during the evidentiary hearing and at trial, that while using his flashlight to indicate to Mr. Martinez to stop, that he, Officer Frazier, made eye contact with the Mr. Martinez, noticed that Mr. Martinez was the only person in the truck, noticed that Mr. Martinez did not stop at the checkpoint, and was almost struck by the side mirror of the truck. Officer Frazier testified that he called out the license plate number on the truck over the radio. As Mr. Martinez drove away Police Service Aides threw a stop stick under the truck’s tires. The stop stick flattened the truck’s tires. Officer Brown testified at the evidentiary hearing and at trial that he was also working the checkpoint and that he followed the truck driving on deflated tires. The truck continued driving on the rims of the truck after the tires had fallen away. Officer Brown testified that he then observed the Mr. Martinez exit [t]he truck and start walking away from him on the on ramp to the interstate highway. Officer Brown chased and arrested Mr. Martinez after Officer Luthi used his patrol car to block Mr. Martinez’s path. Mr. Martinez was taken back to the road block by Officer Luthi in an effort by Officer Luthi to ensure Mr. Martinez was the person that fled the road block. While near the road block, with Mr. Martinez in the back seat of the patrol car, Officer Brown asked Officer Frazier if Mr. Martinez was the person that Officer Frazier saw fleeing the road block. During a search of the truck, following Mr. Martinez’s arrest, several beer cans were discovered in the back seat of the truck. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Martinez was taken for a breath test. Mr. Martinez, after receiving the Implied Consent Act Advisory, refused to submit a breath test.

State of New Mexico v. Martinez, D-202-CR-2017-01282, Docketing Statement at 3-4, filed March 13, 2018.1 A jury convicted S. Martinez on one count of aggravated driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor (eighth or subsequent offense), two counts of resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer, and one count of reckless driving. See Petition at 1; State v. Martinez, 2018 WL 5994196 at *1 (N.M. Ct. App. 2018). Judgment was entered on the convictions on January 17, 2018. See Petition at 1. S. Martinez appealed his convictions and sentence to the Court of Appeals of New Mexico. His direct appeal raised three issues: (i) double jeopardy; (ii) error by the trial judge in denying a

1The Court has reviewed the official record in Martinez’s State court proceedings through the Supreme Court of New Mexico’s Secured Online Public Access and takes judicial notice of the official New Mexico court records. See United States v. Ahidley, 486 F.3d 1184, 1192 n.5 (10th Cir. 2007)(holding that a court may take judicial notice of publicly filed records concerning matters that bear directly upon the disposition of the case at hand); Stack v. McCotter, 79 F. App’x 383 (10th Cir. 2003)(unpublished opinion)(holding that a state court’s docket sheet is subject to judicial notice under Fed. R. Evid. 201); Shoulders v. Dinwiddie, No. CIV-06-890-C, 2006 WL 2792671 (W.D. Okla. 2006)(Cauthron, J.)(holding that a court may take judicial notice of state court records available on the world wide web). motion to suppress Officer Frazier’s show-up identification; and (iii) sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction for aggravated DWI. See State v. Martinez, 2018 WL 5994196 (N.M. Ct. App. 2018). The Court of Appeals of New Mexico affirmed in part and reversed in part S. Martinez’ convictions and sentence on direct appeal in an unpublished opinion. See State v.

Martinez, 2018 WL 5994196 at *3. The Court of Appeals of New Mexico held that one of S. Martinez’ two convictions for resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer violated double jeopardy, and reversed and remanded for the district court to vacate that conviction. See State v. Martinez, 2018 WL 5994196 at *2. The Court of Appeals of New Mexico affirmed S. Martinez’ convictions and sentence in all other respects. See State v. Martinez, 2018 WL 5994196 at *3. The Supreme Court of New Mexico denied certiorari on November 16, 2018. On remand, the State district court vacated one of the convictions for resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer and re-sentenced S. Martinez. See State of New Mexico v. Martinez, D- 202-CR-2017-01282, Amended Judgment and Sentence, filed July 11, 2019. S. Martinez did not appeal from the Amended Judgment and Sentence and did not file a state court habeas corpus

petition. After the Court of Appeals of New Mexico had ruled, but before the trial court entered the Amended Judgment, S. Martinez filed his Petition in this Court on March 18, 2019. See Petition at 1. In his Petition, Martinez raises three grounds for relief: There was insufficient evidence of aggravated DWI. On the night in question officer’s Jason Brown/Christopher Luthi pursuing the truck at no time transmit via radio that the hit a car or missed some pedestrians nor had any footage via unit cam showing the truck was driven recklessly.

. . . .

Show-up identification violated due process. Officer Frazier casted out the truck’s license via radio when Officer Brown and Officer Luthi caught up to the pursuit, Officer Brown arrested Petitioner, there was no need to transport Petitioner back to the check point to be identified in handcuffs in the back of a squad car (it inherently suggestive).

Reckless driving violating double jeopardy. Petitioner’s conviction for reckless driving is subsumed within the resisting/evading convictions-the conduct is unitary and punishment cannot be had for both.

See Petition at 5-8. S. Martinez requests that the Court “reverse/vacate on due process and double jeopardy grounds.” Petition at 15. STANDARDS FOR § 2254 REVIEW

S. Martinez is proceeding in this Court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. A prisoner in state custody may seek federal habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254.

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Martinez v. Martinez, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martinez-v-martinez-nmd-2022.