State v. Tom

2010 NMCA 062, 236 P.3d 660, 148 N.M. 348
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 25, 2010
Docket27,549
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 2010 NMCA 062 (State v. Tom) 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. Tom, 2010 NMCA 062, 236 P.3d 660, 148 N.M. 348 (N.M. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION

SUTIN, Judge.

{1} Defendant Roxanna Tom filed a motion for rehearing and/or motion to amend or correct opinion. This Court has considered the motion and the motion is hereby denied as to rehearing and granted as to amending the opinion to state that we are addressing only two of the three issues Defendant raises on appeal. The opinion filed in this case on April 22, 2010, is withdrawn and the following opinion is substituted therefor.

{2} Defendant appeals her conviction for driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor (DWI) pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 66-8-102(A) (2005) (amended 2007 and 2008). We reverse Defendant’s conviction and remand for a new trial.

BACKGROUND

{3} After dinner with friends and family in Farmington, New Mexico, Defendant, along with some family members, went out for drinks and dancing at the Turnaround Bar (the Bar). Defendant drove to the Bar around 10:00 p.m. While at the Bar, Defendant split three pitchers of beer with three other people. At approximately 1:00 a.m., a fight broke out in the bar and Defendant and her companions decided to leave. Defendant testified that she was trying to extract one of her companions from the fray, when she was punched or hit with a bottle on the right side of her mouth, and that patrons in the Bar were throwing things at her and her companions as they fled the establishment. Defendant testified that she and her companions sought refuge in her vehicle. However, once in the vehicle, Defendant noticed someone approaching the car and, believing it to be the waitress who had struck her in the mouth and believing that the waitress had a bottle in her hand, Defendant started her car, “threw it in reverse,” and “just took off.” Defendant testified that she “[saw] that waitress running up, so when I pulled back and started going, [the waitress] was running up beside my car, and that’s when I just heard a loud shatter on my windshield.”

{4} Farmington police officers were dispatched to investigate the fight at the Bar. Once on the scene, a woman in the parking lot directed officers to Defendant’s vehicle. As the officers approached Defendant’s car, the vehicle was stationary. The officers were within five to ten feet of the ear, with their flashlights illuminating the occupants’ faces, and Officer Garcia gave a verbal command to the driver of the vehicle to stop. After Officer Garcia’s command to stop, Defendant began backing out of the parking space. After Officer Garcia’s second command to stop, Defendant proceeded to drive out of the parking lot toward the street. One of the officers was standing in the path of the ear as it began accelerating, and the officer ordered Defendant to stop. Defendant continued to accelerate, and the officer was forced to move out of the way to avoid being hit. As the car passed, the officer struck the windshield of the car with his baton, causing the windshield to break.

{5} One of the officers followed Defendant as she exited the parking lot, engaged his lights and siren and stopped Defendant about a quarter of a mile from the Bar. Two other officers, Officer Bonnell and Officer Garcia, arrived at the scene and began a DWI and aggravated assault investigation. Officer Garcia asked Defendant if she was the driver of the vehicle and if she had consumed any alcohol. Defendant admitted to both. Officer Bonnell then administered at least two of the three standardized field sobriety tests (FSTs) — the walk-and-turn test and the one-leg-stand test. Officer Bonnell testified that he had to repeat the instructions for the walk-and-turn test several times before Defendant understood. According to Officer Bonnell, Defendant failed the walk-and-turn test by swaying throughout the test and executing an improper turn. Officer Bonnell also opined that Defendant failed the one-leg-stand test by swaying throughout the test, raising her hands more than six inches off her sides, and putting her foot down at least one time. Officer Bonnell further opined that Defendant was too impaired to drive safely. Defendant was placed under arrest and transported to the police station where Officer Garcia administered a breath-alcohol test (BAT). Defendant’s BAT results showed a .12 blood-alcohol content (BAC).

{6} Defendant was charged with driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, contrary to Section 66-8-102, and with aggravated assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon, contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 30-22-22(A)(1) (1971). At trial, Defendant argued that the State had not demonstrated that she was impaired. Defendant further asserted that, if she was impaired, she did not intend to drive while impaired, but did so only because she feared immediate great bodily harm to herself and her companions. The jury convicted Defendant of DWI, but acquitted Defendant on the aggravated assault charge. Defendant appeals her DWI conviction.

DISCUSSION

{7} Defendant raises three issues on appeal: (1) whether the district court erred in admitting the BAT results, (2) whether the prosecutor improperly commented on Defendant’s duress defense during closing arguments, and (3) whether the district court erred by allowing officers who had destroyed their handwritten notes to testify. We address the first two issues only. Because we reverse and remand for other reasons, we see no need to address the third issue.

I. Admissibility of BAT Results

{8} Defendant contends that the district court erred by permitting the State to introduce Defendant’s BAT results where the State failed to lay a proper foundation. Specifically, Defendant contends that the State failed to present evidence of the breath test machine’s certification. The State argues that Defendant failed to preserve the specific argument she now advances on appeal regarding the machine’s certification and the reliability of Defendant’s BAT results. Alternatively, the State contends that it did establish the reliability of the BAT results, and any evidentiary error resulting from the admission of the BAT results was harmless.

A. Defendant’s Argument That the State Failed to Lay a Proper Foundation Due to the Lack of Evidence of Certification Was Properly Preserved

{9} In order to preserve an issue for appeal, a defendant must make a timely objection that specifically apprises the district court of the nature of the claimed error and invokes an intelligent ruling thereon. State v. Varela, 1999-NMSC-045, ¶ 25, 128 N.M. 454, 993 P.2d 1280. In the present case, Defendant challenged the admissibility of the BAT results for lack of foundation. Defendant objected when the State sought to elicit testimony from a witness regarding the results of the BAT. In a bench conference following Defendant’s objection, defense counsel specifically stated to the district court that “there is absolutely no testimony as to the reliability or the accuracy of the certification of the [breath test machine].” The district court allowed the State the opportunity to lay a foundation for the BAT results, and Defendant objected two more times on the same grounds prior to the admission of the BAT results into evidence.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2010 NMCA 062, 236 P.3d 660, 148 N.M. 348, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-tom-nmctapp-2010.