State v. Skeets

CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 12, 2026
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Skeets (State v. Skeets) 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. Skeets, (N.M. 2026).

Opinion

The slip opinion is the first version of an opinion released by the Chief Clerk of the Supreme Court. Once an opinion is selected for publication by the Court, it is assigned a vendor-neutral citation by the Chief Clerk for compliance with Rule 23- 112 NMRA, authenticated and formally published. The slip opinion may contain deviations from the formal authenticated opinion.

1 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

2 Opinion Number:

3 Filing Date: February 12, 2026

4 NO. S-1-SC-40418

5 STATE OF NEW MEXICO, 6 Plaintiff-Appellant,

7 v.

8 BRYLAND SKEETS, 9 Defendant-Appellee.

10 INTERLOCUTORY APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF 11 MCKINLEY COUNTY 12 Louis E. DePauli Jr., District Judge

13 Raúl Torrez, Attorney General 14 Santa Fe, NM 15 Walter M. Hart III, Assistant Solicitor General 16 Albuquerque, NM 17 for Appellant

18 Bennett J. Baur, Chief Public Defender 19 Kimberly M. Chavez Cook, Appellate Defender 20 Mary Barket, Assistant Appellate Defender 21 Santa Fe, NM

22 for Appellee 1 OPINION

2 ZAMORA, Justice.

3 {1} Defendant Bryland Skeets was charged with an open count of murder and

4 conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. After a preliminary hearing, the district

5 court found that the charges were not supported by probable cause. The State appeals

6 to this Court.

7 {2} Defendant argues that we lack jurisdiction to decide the State’s appeal of the

8 no probable cause finding. The State argues that jurisdiction is appropriate under

9 NMSA 1978, Section 39-3-3(B)(1) (1972). Section 39-3-3(B)(1) provides, “In any

10 criminal proceeding in district court an appeal may be taken by the state to the

11 [S]upreme [C]ourt or [C]ourt of [A]ppeals, as appellate jurisdiction may be vested

12 by law in these [C]ourts . . . within thirty days from a decision, judgment or order

13 dismissing a complaint, indictment or information as to any one or more counts.”

14 {3} We conclude that we lack jurisdiction. Under this Court’s unchallenged

15 precedent, State v. Heinsen, 2005-NMSC-035, 138 N.M. 441, 121 P.3d 1040,

16 Section 39-3-3(B)(1) applies only to final orders. The district court’s order

17 discharging Defendant for lack of probable cause to support the State’s charges is

18 not a final, appealable order because the State has recourse other than an appeal: it

19 may refile the charges by criminal information or bring the charges before a grand 1 jury. Nor does the district court’s order invoke the doctrine of practical finality

2 because the probable cause issue raised by the State is not unreviewable as a practical

3 matter. The State can simply refile the charges.

4 {4} Because we lack jurisdiction to hear this case, we do not address the merits of

5 the State’s other arguments and dismiss this appeal.

6 I. BACKGROUND

7 {5} Defendant was charged in connection with a stabbing at a gas station in

8 Gallup, New Mexico, on February 4, 2023, which resulted in the death of Shawn

9 Kinlicheenie. On February 6, 2023, the State filed a criminal complaint in magistrate

10 court against Defendant, charging him with open counts of murder and conspiracy

11 to commit first-degree murder. Two days later, the magistrate court transferred the

12 case to district court, which became the court of record.

13 {6} After a March 3, 2023, preliminary hearing, the district court found that

14 Defendant’s charges were not supported by probable cause. Three days later, the

15 district court filed an order restating the finding of no probable cause and discharging

16 Defendant from both counts.

17 {7} On March 15, 2023, the State appealed to our Court of Appeals, which

18 requested transfer to this Court pursuant to State v. Smallwood. See 2007-NMSC-

19 005, ¶ 11, 141 N.M. 178, 152 P.3d 821 (stating that the Legislature intended the New 1 Mexico Supreme Court “to have jurisdiction over interlocutory appeals in situations

2 where a defendant may possibly be sentenced to life imprisonment or death”). We

3 accepted transfer on June 10, 2024.

4 II. DISCUSSION

5 {8} The State argues there was probable cause to support the charges against

6 Defendant and that the appropriate standard of review of a district court’s finding of

7 no probable cause is de novo. In response, Defendant argues that the State had no

8 right to appeal the district court’s probable cause finding and, therefore, this Court

9 is without jurisdiction to decide this case. The State counters that Section 39-3-

10 3(B)(1) establishes jurisdiction for the State’s appeal under the facts of this case.1

11 We conclude that we do not have jurisdiction under Section 39-3-3(B)(1) because

12 that statute applies to final orders, and the district court’s order is neither final nor

13 invokes the doctrine of practical finality. We explain below.

1 The State does not argue that jurisdiction was established under Article VI, Section 2 of the New Mexico Constitution; accordingly, we limit our jurisdictional analysis to Section 39-3-3(B)(1). See N.M. Const. art. VI, § 2 (“[A]n aggrieved party shall have an absolute right to one appeal.”); State v. Heinsen, 2005-NMSC-035, ¶ 21, 138 N.M. 441, 121 P.3d 1040 (stating that the state has a right to appeal from non-final orders under Article VI, Section 2 of the New Mexico Constitution where the state’s interest is “significant” and where the “district court order affect[s] an important state right”). 1 A. Standard of Review

2 {9} We review questions of jurisdiction and statutory interpretation de novo.

3 Heinsen, 2005-NMSC-035, ¶ 6 (stating that we review questions of jurisdiction de

4 novo); State v. Nick R., 2009-NMSC-050, ¶ 11, 147 N.M. 182, 218 P.3d 868 (stating

5 that we review questions of statutory construction de novo).

6 B. Section 39-3-3(B)(1) Does Not Vest This Court with Jurisdiction to 7 Review the District Court’s Order

8 {10} A preliminary hearing is a judicial proceeding “at the threshold of [a] criminal

9 prosecution at which guilt or innocence is not definitively determined.” State v.

10 Ayon, 2023-NMSC-025, ¶ 17, 538 P.3d 66. The primary purpose of a preliminary

11 hearing is to determine whether the state has met its constitutional burden to

12 demonstrate probable cause before bringing a defendant to trial for a serious criminal

13 offense. Id. ¶¶ 16-17; see also State v. Lopez, 2013-NMSC-047, ¶ 2, 314 P.3d 236

14 (“Under Article II, Section 14 of the New Mexico Constitution, a defendant may not

15 be brought to trial for a serious criminal offense unless there first has been a

16 determination of probable cause, either by a grand jury or by a judge at a preliminary

17 examination.”). The preliminary hearing “operates as a screening device to prevent

18 hasty and unwise prosecutions and to save an innocent accused from the humiliation

19 and anxiety of a public prosecution.” State ex rel. Whitehead v. Vescovi-Dial, 1997- 1 NMCA-126, ¶ 6, 124 N.M. 375, 950 P.2d 818; see also Ayon, 2023-NMSC-025, ¶

2 24 (quoting the Vescovi-Dial Court’s reasoning with approval).

3 {11} The statute at issue—Section 39-3-3(B)(1)—provides that the state may

4 appeal in a criminal case “from a decision, judgment or order dismissing a complaint,

5 indictment or information as to any one or more counts.” Under the established

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Related

State v. NICK R.
2009 NMSC 050 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2009)
State v. Savedra
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State v. Lopez
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State Ex Rel. Whitehead v. Vescovi-Dial
950 P.2d 818 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1997)
State v. Armijo
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State v. Maki
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State v. Griego
2004 NMCA 107 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2004)
Chapman v. State
2001 WY 25 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2001)
State v. Loomis
201 P.3d 1277 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2009)
State v. Smallwood
2007 NMSC 5 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2007)
Herrera v. Sanchez
2014 NMSC 018 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2014)
Collado v. New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division
2005 NMCA 056 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2005)
State v. Heinsen
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State v. Ayon
538 P.3d 66 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2023)

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State v. Skeets, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-skeets-nm-2026.