AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

The Defendant was convicted of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs (DWI) in New Mexico. The conviction was based on a guilty plea. The Defendant had a prior conviction in Colorado for driving while ability impaired (DWAI), which the district court considered as one of four prior DWI convictions to enhance the Defendant's sentence. The Defendant challenged the use of the Colorado conviction, arguing it was not equivalent to a New Mexico DWI and that it was obtained without counsel or a waiver of counsel.

Procedural History

• District Court, San Juan County: The Defendant was convicted of DWI and sentenced to two years of incarceration, with the court finding that the Colorado DWAI conviction constituted a prior offense under New Mexico law.

Parties' Submissions

• Appellant (Defendant): Argued that the Colorado DWAI conviction was not equivalent to a New Mexico DWI under Section 66-8-102(Q) and should not have been used to enhance the sentence. Additionally, the Defendant contended that the uncounseled Colorado conviction violated due process when used for sentence enhancement.
• Appellee (State): Asserted that the Colorado DWAI conviction was equivalent to a New Mexico DWI under Section 66-8-102(Q) and could be used to enhance the Defendant's sentence. The State also argued that the Defendant's due process claim was not preserved for appellate review.

Legal Issues

• Whether the Colorado DWAI conviction is equivalent to a New Mexico DWI conviction under Section 66-8-102(Q) and can be used to enhance the Defendant's sentence.
• Whether the use of the uncounseled Colorado DWAI conviction to enhance the Defendant's sentence violates due process.

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals affirmed the Defendant's conviction and sentence.

Reasons

Per Bustamante J. (Sutin and Vanzi JJ. concurring):

• The Court reviewed the equivalency of the Colorado DWAI statute and New Mexico's DWI statute under Section 66-8-102(Q). It found that the elements of the Colorado DWAI offense were equivalent to those of a New Mexico DWI, as both prohibit driving while impaired to the slightest degree. The Court relied on precedent from State v. Lewis, which held that Colorado's DWAI statute is equivalent to New Mexico's DWI statute.
• The Court rejected the Defendant's argument that the Colorado conviction was based solely on a BAC of 0.07, which would not suffice for a DWI conviction in New Mexico. The Court noted that the record did not establish that the Colorado conviction was based solely on BAC and emphasized that equivalency is determined by comparing the statutes, not the underlying conduct.
• Regarding the due process claim, the Court held that the Defendant failed to preserve this argument for appellate review because it was not raised in the district court. The Court also noted that the Defendant abandoned the argument he did raise in the district court, which concerned the use of an uncounseled conviction where jail time was later imposed for a probation violation.
• The Court concluded that the district court properly included the Colorado DWAI conviction in determining the Defendant's prior offenses and affirmed the sentence.