State v. Salcido

CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 10, 2018
DocketA-1-CA-36759
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Salcido (State v. Salcido) 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. Salcido, (N.M. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

This memorandum opinion was not selected for publication in the New Mexico Appellate Reports. Please see Rule 12-405 NMRA for restrictions on the citation of unpublished memorandum opinions. Please also note that this electronic memorandum opinion may contain computer-generated errors or other deviations from the official paper version filed by the Court of Appeals and does not include the filing date.

1 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

2 STATE OF NEW MEXICO,

3 Plaintiff-Appellee,

4 v. NO. A-1-CA-36759

5 ISAIAS SALCIDO,

6 Defendant-Appellant.

7 APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF CHAVES COUNTY 8 Kea W. Riggs, District Judge

9 Hector H. Balderas, Attorney General 10 Santa Fe, NM

11 for Appellant

12 Bennett J. Baur, Chief Public Defender 13 John Charles Bennett, Assistant Public Defender 14 Santa Fe, NM

15 for Appellee

16 MEMORANDUM OPINION

17 ZAMORA, Judge.

18 {1} Defendant Isaias Salcido appeals from his convictions, after a jury trial, of

19 trafficking controlled substances, contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 30-31-20 (2006), 1 and possession of drug paraphernalia, contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 30-31-25.1(A)

2 (2001). In this Court’s notice of proposed disposition, we proposed to summarily

3 affirm. [CN 1, 10] Defendant filed a memorandum in opposition (MIO) and motion

4 to amend the docketing statement, which we have duly considered. Remaining

5 unpersuaded, we deny Defendant’s motion to amend the docketing statement and

6 affirm.

7 Pretext and Sufficiency

8 {2} Defendant continues to argue pretext and sufficiency, as he did in his docketing

9 statement. [DS 6-7; MIO 8, 15] With regard to these issues, we note that Defendant

10 has not asserted any new facts, law, or arguments that persuade this Court that our

11 notice of proposed disposition was erroneous. [See id.] See Hennessy v. Duryea,

12 1998-NMCA-036, ¶ 24, 124 N.M. 754, 955 P.2d 683 (“Our courts have repeatedly

13 held that, in summary calendar cases, the burden is on the party opposing the proposed

14 disposition to clearly point out errors in fact or law.”); State v. Mondragon,

15 1988-NMCA-027, ¶ 10, 107 N.M. 421, 759 P.2d 1003 (stating that “[a] party

16 responding to a summary calendar notice must come forward and specifically point

17 out errors of law and fact[,]” and the repetition of earlier arguments does not fulfill

18 this requirement), superseded by statute on other grounds as stated in State v. Harris,

2 1 2013-NMCA-031, ¶ 3, 297 P.3d 374. We therefore refer Defendant to our analysis in

2 our notice of proposed disposition.

3 {3} We additionally note that, although Defendant continues to argue that there was

4 insufficient evidence to support a reasonable jury finding that Defendant intended to

5 transfer the methamphetamine to another, we reiterate that the evidence—that

6 Defendant was in possession of a cup with a substance determined to be 21.35 grams

7 of methamphetamine in it; that he had a digital scale with residue and two baggies

8 with residue on his person; that amounts of drugs closer to an ounce (28.35 grams)

9 indicate that it is more likely that the intent is to traffic; and that there was no other

10 user-paraphernalia found in the vehicle [MIO 4-6; CN 6-9]—was sufficient to uphold

11 the conviction. See State v. Slade, 2014-NMCA-088, ¶ 13, 331 P.3d 930 (stating that

12 sufficiency review is highly deferential; that we view the evidence in the light most

13 favorable to the State, resolving all conflicts and making all possible inferences in

14 favor of the jury’s verdict; and that we “do not search for inferences supporting a

15 contrary verdict or re-weigh the evidence because this type of analysis would

16 substitute an appellate court’s judgment for that of the jury” (internal quotation marks

17 and citation omitted)); State v. Flores, 2010-NMSC-002, ¶ 19, 147 N.M. 542, 226

18 P.3d 641 (stating that “circumstantial evidence alone can amount to substantial

19 evidence” and that “intent is subjective and is almost always inferred from other facts

3 1 in the case” (alterations, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted)); State v.

2 Michael S., 1995-NMCA-112, ¶ 7, 120 N.M. 617, 904 P.2d 595 (stating that “[i]ntent

3 need not be established by direct evidence, but may be inferred from the [defendant]’s

4 conduct and the surrounding circumstances”).

5 {4} Again, it is for the jury to resolve any conflicts in the testimony and determine

6 weight and credibility. State v. Salas, 1999-NMCA-099, ¶ 13, 127 N.M. 686, 986 P.2d

7 482. We do not re-weigh the evidence, and we may not substitute our judgment for

8 that of the fact-finder, as long as there is sufficient evidence to support the verdict.

9 State v. Griffin, 1993-NMSC-071, ¶ 17, 116 N.M. 689, 866 P.2d 1156; State v. Mora,

10 1997-NMSC-060, ¶ 27, 124 N.M. 346, 950 P.2d 789 (same), abrogated on other

11 grounds by Kersey v. Hatch, 2010-NMSC-020, 148 N.M. 381, 237 P.3d 683.

12 Moreover, to the extent Defendant presented a different version of the facts, the jury

13 was free to reject his version. See State v. Rojo, 1999-NMSC-001, ¶ 19, 126 N.M. 438,

14 971 P.2d 829. Indeed, “[w]hen a defendant argues that the evidence and inferences

15 present two equally reasonable hypotheses, one consistent with guilt and another

16 consistent with innocence, our answer is that by its verdict, the jury has necessarily

17 found the hypothesis of guilt more reasonable than the hypothesis of innocence.” State

18 v. Montoya, 2005-NMCA-078, ¶ 3, 137 N.M. 713, 114 P.3d 393.

19 Motion to Amend: Fundamental Error

4 1 {5} Defendant additionally seeks to raise three issues pursuant to his motion to

2 amend: (a) whether the district court fundamentally erred by not including a definition

3 of “inference” in the jury instructions; (b) whether his Fourth Amendment to the

4 United States Constitution rights were violated by the officer asking him for his name

5 and searching for his identification; and (c) whether his New Mexico Constitutional

6 rights were violated for the same reason. [MIO 3; see also MIO 12, 15, 19] In order

7 for this Court to grant a motion to amend the docketing statement, the movant must

8 meet certain criteria that establishes good cause for our allowance of such amendment.

9 See State v. Moore, 1989-NMCA-073, ¶¶ 41-42, 109 N.M. 119, 782 P.2d 91,

10 superceded by rule on other grounds as recognized in State v. Salgado,

11 1991-NMCA-044, ¶ 2, 112 N.M. 537, 817 P.2d 730; State v. Rael, 1983-NMCA-081,

12 ¶¶ 15-16, 100 N.M. 193, 668 P.2d 309. The essential requirements to show good cause

13 for our allowance of an amendment to an appellant’s docketing statement are that “(1)

14 the motion to amend must be timely, (2) the new issue sought to be raised was either

15 (a) properly preserved below or (b) allowed to be raised for the first time on appeal,

16 and (3) the issues raised are viable.” Moore, 1989-NMCA-073, ¶ 42.

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Related

State v. Harris
2013 NMCA 31 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2013)
Kersey v. Hatch
2010 NMSC 020 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2010)
State v. Flores
2010 NMSC 002 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2010)
State v. Ketelson
2011 NMSC 023 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2011)
State v. Leyva
2011 NMSC 9 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2011)
State v. Mora
1997 NMSC 060 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1997)
State v. Moore
782 P.2d 91 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1989)
State v. Salas
1999 NMCA 099 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1999)
State v. Salgado
817 P.2d 730 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1991)
State v. Mondragon
759 P.2d 1003 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1988)
Hennessy v. Duryea
1998 NMCA 036 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1998)
State v. Michael S.
904 P.2d 595 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1995)
State v. Rojo
1999 NMSC 001 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1998)
Hourigan v. Cassidy
2001 NMCA 085 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2001)
State v. Barber
2004 NMSC 019 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2004)
State v. Montoya
2005 NMCA 78 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2005)
State v. Griffin
866 P.2d 1156 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1993)
State v. Rael
668 P.2d 309 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1983)
Statezny v. State
2001 WY 22 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2001)
State v. Montoya
2003 NMSC 004 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2002)

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Bluebook (online)
State v. Salcido, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-salcido-nmctapp-2018.