State v. Valdez

2013 NMCA 16, 2013 NMCA 016, 3 N.M. 296
New Mexico Court of Appeals·Decided September 19, 2012·No. 33,871; Docket 31,164·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

OPINION

CASTILLO, Chief Judge.

{1} The issue in this case is one of first impression: Does the language of NMSA 1978, Section 66-8-102(N) (2010), mandating installation of an ignition interlock on vehicles driven by persons convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI), violate the Equal Protection Clause of the United States and New Mexico Constitutions as applied to DWI offenders whose impairment is caused not by alcohol but by drugs? 1 We conclude that it does not, and we reverse.

I. BACKGROUND

{2} UnderNew Mexico law, it is unlawful for a person to drive a vehicle if that person is under the influence of intoxicating liquor. See § 66-8-102(A). Similarly, it is unlawful for a person to drive a vehicle if that person is under the influence of any drug to a degree that renders the person incapable of safely driving a vehicle. See § 66-8-102(B). Section 66-8-102(C) sets out the per se standard for DWI convictions based on alcohol concentration, and Section 66-8-102(D) deals with aggravated DWI. The portion of the statute in question in this case, Section 66-8-102(N), applies to any offender convicted of any type of DWI, and requires that offender to

obtain an ignition interlock license and have an ignition interlock device installed and operating on all motor vehicles driven by the offender, pursuant to rules adopted by the traffic safety bureau. Unless determined by the bureau to be indigent, the offender shall pay all costs associated with having an ignition interlock device installed on the appropriate motor vehicles. The offender shall operate only those vehicles equipped with ignition interlock devices for:
(1) a period of one year, for a first offender;
(2) a period of two years, for a second conviction pursuant to this section;
(3) a period of three years, for a third conviction pursuant to this section; or
(4) the remainder of the offender’s life, for a fourth or subsequent conviction pursuant to this section.

An ignition interlock device is an electronic analyzer that measures breath-alcohol concentration and prevents a driver from starting and continuing to operate a vehicle if the driver’s blood-alcohol content exceeds a specified limit. See 18.20.11.11 NMAC (01/01/03).

{3} Here, the facts are not in dispute. Defendant was charged with a first-time offense after driving while intoxicated in Santa Fe County pursuant to Section 66-8-102(B). Results of a blood test showed the presence in her system of oxycodone, diazepam, and nordiazepam, but no alcohol. She entered into a conditional plea agreement wherein she pled guilty to the first-time DWI but reserved the right to appeal any order requiring her to install an ignition interlock device in her vehicle. In addition, she filed a motion to set aside any requirement that she install an interlock device. The district court accepted the plea agreement and further granted Defendant’s motion. Finding that “alcohol did not contribute to ... Defendant’s conviction,” the court ruled that the ignition interlock requirement did not apply to her case because the interlock devices detect only alcohol, not drugs. The court concluded that “there is no rational basis” for requiring a personinDefendant’s situation to comply with the statute, in violation of equal protection guarantees of the state and federal constitutions. The State appeals.

{4} Defendant urges affirmance, claiming that the interlock provision is over-inclusive in its classifications of drivers and under-inclusive in its remedies. The State argues for reversal. It contends that the district court wrongly decided that the ignition interlock law fails the rational basis test and argues that the court improperly concluded that the law is not rationally related to the goal of preventing driving while impaired. We look to the statute and subject it to the rational basis test as adopted by New Mexico courts.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review, Scope of Review

{5} New Mexico’s Constitution mirrors that of the United States in providing that “[n]o person shall be . . . denied equal protection of the laws.” N.M. Const, art II, § 18; see U.S. Const, amend. XIV. We have previously articulated the standard of review in such a constitutional challenge and the approach to the three levels of scrutiny involved — strict, intermediate, and rational basis:

In analyzing which level of scrutiny should apply in an equal protection challenge, a court should look at all three levels to determine which is most appropriate based on the facts of the particular case. The determination of which level of scrutiny is applicable under the Constitution is a purely legal question, and is reviewed de novo.

Breen v. Carlsbad Mun. Sch., 2005-NMSC-028, ¶ 15, 138 N.M. 331, 120 P.3d 413.

{6} The extent of our scrutiny depends “on the nature of the interest and the degree to which it is infringed.” State v. Druktenis, 2004-NMCA-032, ¶ 86, 135 N.M. 223, 86 P.3d 1050 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The highest level of review, strict scrutiny, is used if the liberty interest being impinged rises to the level of a fundamental right, most notably in the areas of race or ancestry. Id. ¶ 89. Intermediate scrutiny is appropriate for analyzing “legislative classifications infringing important but not fundamental rights, and involving sensitive but not suspect classes.” Id. ¶ 97 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Intermediate scrutiny is limited to classes involving gender and illegitimacy. Id. ¶ 99.

{7} Both parties agree that, absent an important right or sensitive class, neither of the two higher forms of scrutiny is applicable in this case and that rational basis is the appropriate level of scrutiny for assessing the constitutionality of the interlock requirement. Under rational basis scrutiny, the party challenging the constitutionality of the statute “must overcome a presumption of constitutionality” and “is required to show that the statute’s classification is not rationally related to the legislative goal.” Id. ¶ 16 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Under this level of scrutiny, the classification need only be rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest. Id. ¶ 102. Thus, we have endorsed the proposition, expressed by the United States Supreme Court, that the Fourteenth Amendment

permits the [sjtates a wide scope of discretion in enacting laws which affect some groups of citizens differently than others. The constitutional safeguard is offended only if the classification rests on grounds wholly irrelevant to the achievement of the [sjtate’s objective. State legislatures are presumed to have acted within their constitutional power despite the fact that, in practice, their laws result in some inequality. A statutory discrimination will not be set aside if any state of facts reasonably may be conceived to justify it.

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State v. Valdez, 2013 NMCA 16, 2013 NMCA 016, 3 N.M. 296 (N.M. Ct. App. 2012).

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