State v. Padilla

1998 NMCA 088, 964 P.2d 829, 125 N.M. 665
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 7, 1998
Docket17521
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 1998 NMCA 088 (State v. Padilla) 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. Padilla, 1998 NMCA 088, 964 P.2d 829, 125 N.M. 665 (N.M. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION

WECHSLER, Judge.

{1} Defendant appeals his convictions of three counts of armed robbery, two counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and one count of attempt to commit armed robbery. Defendant raises seven issues on appeal, including a due-process challenge to the trial court’s use of dual juries in his joint trial with codefendant Alex Sanchez (Sanchez). Only the portion of the opinion examining the dual-jury procedure merits publication. We address Defendant’s other issues in a separate memorandum opinion. We affirm Defendant’s convictions.

Facts

{2} The charges stem from a series of robberies that occurred in Albuquerque during early November 1994 and exhibited the same modus operandi. The robber targeted a business open late at night, carried a concealed hammer, demanded cash from the cash register, and if refused, used the hammer to bang the cash register open. Two robberies and one attempted robbery occurred during the evening of November 4 and early morning of November 5. The robber struck an Allsups convenience store around 9:00 p.m. on November 4 while Terry Bui (Bui) worked as the cashier. A few hours later, he robbed a Dunkin Donuts store while Phyllis Sandoval (Sandoval) worked as the cashier. The baker, George Woody (Woody), foiled the robbery by throwing his rolling pin at the robber as the robber exited the door. The robber suffered an injury, and the State collected and analyzed blood found on the floor near the door. Woody witnessed the getaway and described the vehicle used.

{3} Less than one-half of an hour later, another Dunkin Donuts store was robbed while Trinidad Hooker (Hooker) worked as the cashier. Although Oscar Rivota (Rivota), the baker, chased the robber out of the store, the robber got away with the cash drawer. A customer, Inez Barela (Barela), witnessed the robbery, and a neighbor, Ron Holser (Holser), witnessed the getaway. He recalled the getaway car’s general description and license plate number, and clearly saw the driver.

{4} The final robbery occurred at 3:00 a.m. on November 11, at a Circle K store, where Matt Zamora (Zamora) worked as the cashier. A neighbor, who arrived just after the robbery, testified that the one car in the parking lot — which resembled the car seen at the second Dunkin Donuts store — sped off when he arrived. He described the driver and the passenger as Hispanic males.

{5} The police determined that Sanchez was the registered owner of the car spotted by Holser. Holser positively identified Sanchez as the driver from a photo array and made an in-court identification. Sandoval positively identified Defendant as the robber from a photo array and made an in-court identification. She and Woody had worked with Sanchez at Dunkin Donuts. During that time, she had spoken to Defendant on the phone when he had called for Sanchez, and she had seen Defendant once in person. Bui identified Defendant from a photo array. Hooker also identified Defendant as the robber from a photo array and made an in-court identification. Barela, witness to the second Dunkin Donuts robbery, identified Defendant in court as the robber. Finally, Zamora also identified Defendant as the robber from a photo array.

Dual-Jury Trial

{6} We presume that the use of dual juries is relatively rare in New Mexico because our appellate courts have not had the opportunity to review the procedure. Other jurisdictions have employed dual juries to prevent potential Sixth Amendment right to confrontation problems during a joint trial of codefendants since the United States Supreme Court decided Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968). See David Carl Minneman, Annotation, Propriety of Use of Multiple Juries at Joint Trial of Multiple Defendants in State Criminal Prosecution, 41 A.L.R.4th 1189, 1190 (1985 and Supp.1997). Bruton determined that a curative or limiting jury instruction is ineffective to remove the prejudice that a defendant suffers when the state introduces at a joint trial with one jury a statement by a non-testifying codefendant which incriminates the other defendant. See id. at 124-26, 88 S.Ct. 1620.

{7} Here, a potential Bruton problem existed. Sanchez consented to a search of his ear during the police investigation. During the search, the police seized a Dunkin Donuts check stub from the passenger compartment and a jacket from the trunk. Sanchez identified the jacket as belonging to Defendant. Sanchez confessed to his role in the robberies, and admitted concerted action with Defendant. Prior to trial, Defendant moved to sever his trial from that of Sanchez and the trial court determined that Defendant was entitled to relief under Rule 5-203(C) NMRA1998.

{8} The issue in this case is whether the court acted within its discretion to empanel dual juries to resolve the Bruton problem. See State v. Richter, 93 N.M. 55, 57, 596 P.2d 268, 270 (Ct.App.1979) (admission of the confessions of codefendants where neither takes the stand is a Bruton problem). Defendant does not challenge the legality of the procedure. Authority to employ dual juries implicitly derives from the trial court’s discretion to provide “whatever other relief justice requires” when a defendant files a motion to sever under Rule 5-203(0). See State v. Beam, 109 Idaho 616, 710 P.2d 526, 533 (Idaho 1985) (finding implicit authority from court rule providing motion for severance); State v. Bowman, 588 A.2d 728, 733 (Me.1991) (finding implicit authority in the comparable language of the rules of criminal procedure); People v. Ricardo B., 73 N.Y.2d 228, 538 N.Y.S.2d 796, 798, 535 N.E.2d 1336 (1989) (determining that power to employ multiple juries logically implied from terms of statute granting court broad discretion to facilitate performance of its responsibilities).

{9} We consider the use of dual juries to be a modified severance of Defendant’s trials. See United States v. Rowan, 518 F.2d 685, 689-90 (6th Cir.1975) (use of two juries viewed as a partial severance); Hedlund v. Sheldon, 173 Ariz. 143, 840 P.2d 1008, 1011 (Ariz.1992) (en bane) (use of dual juries within the trial court’s discretion to sever); People v. Cummings, 4 Cal.4th 1233, 18 Cal.Rptr.2d 796, 830, 850 P.2d 1 (1993) (en banc) (“The use of dual juries is a permissible means to avoid the necessity for complete severance.”); People v. Hana, 447 Mich. 325, 524 N.W.2d 682, 698 (Mich.1994) (dual juries permissible absent prejudice); Ricardo B., 538 N.Y.S.2d at 798, 535 N.E.2d 1336 (use of dual juries allowed so long as procedure does not prejudice the defendant); State v. Avery, 215 Wis.2d 45, 571 N.W.2d 907, 910 (Wis.Ct. App.1997) (use of dual juries met requirements of severance where one codefendant provided a confession).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1998 NMCA 088, 964 P.2d 829, 125 N.M. 665, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-padilla-nmctapp-1998.