State v. Garcia

2005 NMSC 017, 116 P.3d 72, 138 N.M. 1
CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
DecidedJune 21, 2005
Docket28,631
StatusPublished
Cited by182 cases

This text of 2005 NMSC 017 (State v. Garcia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Garcia, 2005 NMSC 017, 116 P.3d 72, 138 N.M. 1 (N.M. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION

BOSSON, Chief Justice.

{1} We examine two issues in the context of police officers lawfully observing a gun from outside a car, and later seizing the gun from under the passenger seat. We first inquire what additional facts must the State prove, beyond the location of the gun, to establish that the passenger, a felon, is in constructive possession of a firearm. Second, we ask what additional facts justify warrantless entry into the car and seizure of the gun consistent with the New Mexico Constitution. In a divided opinion, our Court of Appeals upheld the search and seizure, but held the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction for being a felon in possession. We agree with the first holding but disagree that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction. Accordingly, we affirm in part and reverse in part, thereby upholding the judgment of the district court.

{2} At around midnight, April 25, 2001, three police officers from the Bosque Farms Police Department and Valencia County Sheriffs Department were leaving a local gas station when they observed a car drive through the station at an extremely low rate of speed. The vehicle had a dealer demonstration tag rather than a license plate. Realizing that dealer tags were not allowed after dealership business hours, Officer Hatch pulled the vehicle over. Before the car had come to a complete stop, Defendant stepped out of the passenger side of the vehicle and slouched against the vehicle with the right side of his body hidden from view. Defendant stared at Officer Hatch with an aggressive look described as a “thousand yard stare.” Officer Hatch drew his weapon at a low, ready position and ordered Defendant back into the ear. Defendant did not respond to the first command but eventually returned to the car.

{3} Officer Hatch and Officer Emmons approached the car. Officer Hatch asked the driver for license, registration, and proof of insurance. The driver only had a New Mexico identification card. The officers then asked if Defendant had a valid driver’s license, so that Defendant could take over for the driver. The officers ran a record check on the names of Defendant and the driver. Officer Emmons cited the driver for not having vehicle registration or insurance.

{4} When the officers approached the car again to give the citations to the driver, Officer Hatch looked through the passenger side window of the vehicle and saw what appeared to be a gun in a holster protruding from underneath the rear of the passenger seat. Once he saw the gun, Officer Hatch told Officer Emmons to stop what he was doing. Out of concern for officer safety, the officers removed the driver and Defendant from the vehicle, patted them down for weapons, handcuffed and detained them. As Defendant got out of the vehicle, Officer Hatch observed a loaded ammunition clip located on top of the passenger seat in what was described as the “palm” of the seat. The clip was five inches by one inch by one-half inch. Officer Hatch moved the seat forward to remove the gun and discovered an open beer bottle, lying directly next to the gun, with the top of the bottle pointing toward the front of the seat. The officer removed the gun, which was a loaded .22 caliber Ruger. Another officer unloaded the gun and a live round from the chamber. The ammunition clip found on Defendant’s seat was determined to fit the gun located under his seat.

{5} After the officers discovered the firearm and the beer bottle, Defendant admitted to drinking in the vehicle, and volunteered that he knew he was not supposed to be around firearms because of his prior felony convictions. The officers arrested Defendant for concealing his identity because he had initially given another name to the officers. The check of Defendant’s criminal history confirmed Defendant’s status as a felon. The officers then arrested Defendant for being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possessing an alcoholic beverage in an open container in a vehicle. See NMSA 1978, § 30-7-16 (1987, prior to 2001 amendment); NMSA 1978, § 66-8-138 (1999, prior to 2001 amendment).

{6} Defendant challenged the constitutionality of the search. Because this was a bench trial, the parties agreed to conduct the evidentiary hearing regarding the search during the trial. The district court denied the motion to suppress because there were exigent circumstances justifying the search and found Defendant guilty on both counts. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed the verdict of being a felon in possession of a firearm, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to prove Defendant’s possession of the firearm beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Garcia, 2004-NMCA-066, ¶ 1, 135 N.M. 595, 92 P.3d 41. However, the court found the search of the vehicle was constitutional and upheld Defendant’s conviction for possession of an alcoholic beverage in an open container. Id. ¶¶ 30, 34. We granted the State’s certiorari petition to review the felon-in-possession charge. Defendant filed a cross-petition claiming the search of the car was unconstitutional, and seeking to overturn the conviction for possession of an open alcoholic container. We also granted Defendant’s petition.

ARGUMENT

Sufficiency of the Evidence that Defendant was a Felon in Possession

{7} We first address the sufficiency of the evidence that led to the conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Because Defendant stipulated to being a convicted felon, our inquiry rests on the sufficiency of the evidence to prove possession.

{8} The standard of proof in a criminal case, beyond a reasonable doubt, is the lens through which we judge the sufficiency of the evidence. The proper focus for that lens is State v. Garcia, 114 N.M. 269, 274, 837 P.2d 862, 867 (1992). Relying on commentators and precedent from the New Mexico and United States Supreme Courts, the Court of Appeals indicated that the burden of proof required the jury to be in “ ‘a subjective state of near certitude of the guilt of the accused.’ ” Garcia, 2004-NMCA-066, ¶ 8 (quoting State v. Wynn, 2001-NMCA-020, ¶ 5, 130 N.M. 381, 24 P.3d 816). The Court of Appeals further characterized the standard as requiring proof “to a moral certainty,” which it defined as “the highest degree of confidence with which an historical or physical fact can be known.” Id. ¶ 10 (quoted authority omitted). Then, the Court of Appeals concluded that such a high standard of proof made the evidence in this particular case insufficient as a matter of law to conclude that Defendant was in possession of the firearm. Id. ¶ 15.

{9} The State protests that the Court of Appeals opinion creates a standard of review in conflict with both the Uniform Jury Instructions and this Court’s previous definitions of beyond a reasonable doubt. See UJI 14-5060 NMRA 2005; State v. Rodriguez, 23 N.M. 156, 167 P. 426 (1917). The Uniform Jury Instructions define reasonable doubt as “a doubt based upon reason and common sense — the kind of doubt that would make a reasonable person hesitate to act in the graver and more important affairs of life.” UJI 14-5060.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Crespin
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2025
State v. Earickson.
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2021
State v. Rodriguez
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2021
Rumba v. Meyer
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2021
City of Roswell v. Segura
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2021
Anderson v. Anderson
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2021
State v. Loddy
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2020
State v. Martinez
2020 NMCA 043 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Moreno
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2020
State v. Rubio
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2020
State v. Renick
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2019
State v. Ibarra
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2019
State v. Loflin
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2019
State v. Florez
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2019
State v. Archuleta
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2019
State v. Sena
419 P.3d 1240 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2018)
State v. Simpson
2016 NMCA 070 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2016)
State v. Garcia
2015 NMCA 094 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2015)
State v. Bell
2015 NMCA 028 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Schwartz
2014 NMCA 066 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2005 NMSC 017, 116 P.3d 72, 138 N.M. 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-garcia-nm-2005.