State v. Edwards

637 P.2d 572, 97 N.M. 141
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 20, 1981
Docket4881
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 637 P.2d 572 (State v. Edwards) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Edwards, 637 P.2d 572, 97 N.M. 141 (N.M. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

OPINION

HENDLEY, Judge.

Convicted of involuntary manslaughter contrary to § 30-2-3(B), N.M.S.A.1978, defendant appeals, contending the trial court erred in 1) not dismissing the indictment; 2) not suppressing certain oral statements; 3) hot permitting full cross-examination of a witness; and 4) submitting an instruction on involuntary manslaughter. Issues listed in the docketing statement and not briefed are deemed abandoned.

The Indictment

Defendant was originally indicted on an open charge of murder. That indictment did not include language that he had used a firearm. Defendant moved to have the firearm enhancement excluded since it was not mentioned in the indictment. The trial court held it was premature to rule on the motion, but indicated that his general reaction was that the firearm enhancement interrogatory would not be submitted.

Subsequently, the State filed to nolle prosequi the indictment and obtained a second indictment charging defendant with second degree murder with the use of a firearm. Defendant’s motion to quash the second indictment on the grounds that a previously valid indictment had already been returned was denied.

Defendant contends that under § 31-6-9(A), N.M.S.A.1978, the second grand jury did not have jurisdiction to indict defendant in Cause No. 32823 because a prior valid indictment based upon the same facts had already been returned by a prior grand jury in Cause No. 32561.

Section 31-6-9, supra, states:

Charge to grand jury.
The district judge convening a grand jury shall charge them with their duties and direct them as to any special inquiry into violations of law that he wishes them to make. The grand jury need not make special inquiry into the general existence or occurrence of violations of any particular statute, notwithstanding any other provision of law. The grand jury is obliged, and the district judge shall charge that they are, to inquire into:
A. any public offense against the state committed and triable in the county which is not barred from prosecution by statute of limitations and upon which no valid indictment or information has theretofore been filed;
B. the condition of every person imprisoned in the county not lawfully committed by a court and not indicted or informed against; and
C. the condition and management of every public jail or prison within the county.
(Emphasis added.)

A nolle prosequi does not amount to an acquittal. When a nolle prosequi has been filed, the accused may be reindicted or reinformed against. State v. Rhodes, 77 N.M. 536, 425 P.2d 47 (1967). See, State v. Saiz, 92 N.M. 776, 595 P.2d 414 (Ct.App.1979). The district attorney may file a nolle prosequi upon good cause and honest motives, but it may not be used to circumvent the rules. State v. Ericksen, 94 N.M. 128, 607 P.2d 666 (Ct.App.1980).

We find nothing in the record which indicates the prosecutor was acting in bad faith. In fact, the record indicates tne contrary.

During the hearing on defendant’s motion to exclude consideration of the firearm enhancement, the prosecutor indicated that he believed that the grand jury had intended to include the firearm enhancement. It was assumed that the absence of reference to the firearm enhancement in the text was a technical error. Defendant never refuted that contention. Defendant, whose defense was self-defense, never contended that a firearm was not used in the homicide.

A plain, literal reading of § 31-6-9(A), supra, suggests that the Legislature did not intend to prohibit a district attorney from reindicting a suspect when there is a flaw in the original indictment. Defendant’s motion was properly denied.

Oral Statement

Defendant was being escorted by two police officers, Johnson and Baragiola, from the police department to the county detention center across the street. As they crossed the street, a third police officer, Guerra, pulled up in his patrol car and asked Johnson, “Is he the one?” The defendant then stated, “I didn’t shoot anybody but five or six times and if that wasn’t enough I would have shot him five or six more.” This was followed by a short laugh. All'three officers testified that the question was directed to Officer Johnson and that no one asked the defendant any questions. At the time Officer Guerra asked the question of Officer Johnson, the defendant was walking away and had his back toward Guerra.

Defendant contends that the trial court erred in failing to suppress his oral statement made in the presence of police officers while being accompanied to the county detention center. Defendant’s position is that the statement should be suppressed because it was taken in violation of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966).

The Miranda, supra, safeguards come into play whenever a person in custody is subjected to either express questioning or its functional equivalent. State v. Harge, 94 N.M. 11, 606 P.2d 1105 (Ct.App.1979). An “interrogation” is a threshold requirement when a defendant alleges a violation of his Miranda, supra, rights. State v. Harge, supra; Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 100 S.Ct. 1682, 64 L.Ed.2d 297 (1979).

Defendant contends this is a more compelling case than in Innis, supra. We disagree. In Innis, supra, the issue was whether defendant’s incriminating statements resulted from an interrogation. There, defendant was arrested shortly after committing an armed robbery. At the time of his arrest, the sawed-off shotgun used to perpetrate the crime was not in his possession. Defendant was given his Miranda, supra, rights. The defendant indicated that he understood those rights and wanted to speak with a lawyer. Defendant was then placed in a patrol car with three police officers and driven to the central police station. During the ride to the police station, two of the officers engaged in a conversation concerning the missing shotgun. The gist of the conversation was that there was a school for handicapped children nearby and, because the area was frequented by handicapped children, the officers should continue to search for the weapon. The officer who initiated the conversation indicated his fear that a child could be hurt. The defendant then interrupted the conversation and directed the officers to where the gun was located. Prior to trial, defendant moved to suppress the shotgun and his statements regarding the shotgun. The trial court admitted the evidence at trial and the Rhode Island Supreme Court reversed.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
637 P.2d 572, 97 N.M. 141, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-edwards-nmctapp-1981.