State v. Palmer

1998 NMCA 052, 957 P.2d 71, 125 N.M. 86
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 19, 1998
Docket17738
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 1998 NMCA 052 (State v. Palmer) 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. Palmer, 1998 NMCA 052, 957 P.2d 71, 125 N.M. 86 (N.M. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION

WECHSLER, Judge.

{1} Defendant Jackie Palmer appeals his conviction on one count each of criminal sexual penetration, contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 30-9-11 (1993), incest, contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 30-10-3 (1963), and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 30-6-3 (1990). On appeal, Defendant argues that his judgment and sentence should be reversed because he was denied procedural due process as a result of a preindictment delay and because the trial court erred in its order of restitution. We affirm.

Facts

{2} Defendant is the victim’s uncle. The victim was fifteen years old at the time of the incidents in question, which occurred on May 22 and 23, 1994. Almost two months later, on July 15, 1994, the victim told her mother what Defendant had done to her, and her mother called the police. The police conducted an investigation, contacted Defendant, and filed a report on July 19, 1994. The report was turned over to the district attorney’s office on August 5, 1994. Due to personnel turnover and case backlog, the district attorney’s office did not file a criminal complaint in magistrate court until July 10, 1995. A grand jury indicted Defendant on July 20, 1995.

{3} Defendant filed a motion to dismiss for preindictment delay which the district court denied after a hearing. Defendant then entered a plea of “no contest” to the three aforementioned counts, reserving the right to appeal the denial of the motion to dismiss for preindictment delay. At the sentencing hearing, the district court sentenced Defendant to six years’ imprisonment, suspended two years of the sentence, and ordered two years of probation following imprisonment. The district court also ordered Defendant to make restitution payments of $100 per month, beginning immediately, to provide for mental health counseling for the victim.

Preindictment Delay and Procedural Due Process

{4} Defendant asserts that he was denied procedural due process by the delay of twelve months between completion of the investigation against him and his indictment by a grand jury. In determining whether a preindictment delay denied Defendant his right of procedural due process, we conduct “an independent review of the record and the law.” State v. Lewis, 107 N.M. 182, 184, 754 P.2d 853, 855 (Ct.App.1988); State v. Grissom, 106 N.M. 555, 565, 746 P.2d 661, 671 (Ct.App.1987). Our Supreme Court has adopted a two-part test for whether a defendant has been denied procedural due process by preindictment delay. Gonzales v. State, 111 N.M. 363, 365, 805 P.2d 630, 632 (1991). First, the defendant must show prejudice to his or her defense as a result of the delay and, second, the defendant must show that the state intentionally caused the delay in order to gain a tactical advantage. Id.

{5} Defendant argues that the preindictment delay caused him prejudice by denying him the opportunity to have himself medically tested in support of his defense of physical impossibility of penetration at the time in question. At the hearing on his motion to dismiss, Defendant indicated that he was gathering medical records and letters from his doctors, presumably in support of his alleged impotence. But Defendant never made any attempt to bring this evidence to the attention of the district court. Nor has Defendant ever argued that a witness such as his doctor or his wife could not have testified as to his condition at the time of the incident. See Lewis, 107 N.M. at 185, 754 P.2d at 856 (actual prejudice not shown when the defendant failed to demonstrate that the evidence sought by him “could not have been obtained from other sources”). Having made no showing whatsoever, Defendant’s claim as to his medical condition is too vague to support his assertion of prejudice. See Gonzales, 111 N.M. at 365, 805 P.2d at 632 (“[T]he term ‘actual prejudice’ evinces a threshold of certainty.”).

{6} Defendant next asserts that the length of delay in this case is presumptively prejudicial, relying on Zurla v. State, 109 N.M. 640, 646, 789 P.2d 588, 594 (1990). Defendant acknowledges that Zurla is not a preindietment delay case, but a speedy trial case. Id. at 642, 789 P.2d at 590. The distinction between preindictment delay and right to a speedy trial is important. Our Supreme Court has held that the due process protections of the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial are triggered by “actual restraints” on a defendant’s liberty, such as occur upon arrest. Salandre v. State, 111 N.M. 422, 425-26, 806 P.2d 562, 565-66 (1991). Salandre recognized that the United States Supreme Court has explicitly refused to “‘extend the reach of the amendment to the period prior to arrest.’” Id. (quoting United States v. Marion, 404 U.S. 307, 321, 92 S.Ct. 455, 463-64, 30 L.Ed.2d 468 (1971)). Also, the concept of presumptive prejudice based on length of delay is not needed to protect the due process rights of defendants during the period prior to arrest because those rights are principally protected by applicable statutes of limitation. Gonzales, 111 N.M. at 364, 805 P.2d at 631. Here, Defendant’s arrest and indictment took place within the statutes of limitation for each count, so we reject Defendant’s argument that the delay in this ease was presumptively prejudicial.

{7} Defendant also complains of prejudice in that he suffered considerable anxiety and concern during the period of delay, in particular whenever he saw a police car. This argument is not relevant, however, because the prejudice afforded protection by procedural due process is prejudice which “impact[s] the defense,” not the defendant. Id. at 365, 805 P.2d at 632.

{8} Defendant makes additional arguments claiming prejudice to his defense unsupported by authority and for the first time on appeal. We will not address these arguments. See State v. Gomez, 1997-NMSC-006, ¶¶ 14, 29, 122 N.M. 777, 932 P.2d 1 (court need not review arguments made for the first time on appeal); In re Adoption of Doe, 100 N.M. 764, 765, 676 P.2d 1329, 1330 (1984) (court will not review arguments that are unsupported by any cited authority).

{9} The district court found that Defendant had failed to demonstrate “any prejudice at all” on account of the delay in indicting in this case, and after independent review of the facts and law, we agree. Therefore, we need not reach the second prong of the Gonzales test, and we affirm the district court’s denial of Defendant’s motion to dismiss for preindictment delay.

District Court’s Order of Restitution

{10} Defendant asserts that the district court erred by ordering restitution.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1998 NMCA 052, 957 P.2d 71, 125 N.M. 86, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-palmer-nmctapp-1998.