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, a Peruvian national who entered the United States legally on a visitor visa, used false names and social security numbers to secure employment with two different employers. He provided falsified information on employment-related forms, including I-9 and W-4 forms, and presented forged social security and resident alien cards. Law enforcement discovered these actions during an investigation into other potential crimes (paras 2-6).

Procedural History

• District Court of San Juan County: The Defendant was convicted of three counts of forgery related to his employment at SOS Staffing Services. He later entered a guilty plea to three additional forgery counts related to his employment at Aztec Well Service, reserving the right to appeal on legal grounds (paras 7-8).

Parties' Submissions

• Defendant-Appellant: Argued that his actions did not constitute forgery as a matter of law because the documents lacked legal efficacy and that the charges should be dismissed. He also raised issues regarding lesser included offenses and suppression of evidence (paras 1, 7-8, 9).
• Plaintiff-Appellee: Contended that the documents in question, including I-9 and W-4 forms, social security cards, and resident alien cards, had legal efficacy and that the Defendant's actions met the statutory definition of forgery (paras 9, 13-17).

Legal Issues

• Whether the documents at issue, including I-9 and W-4 forms, social security cards, and resident alien cards, have legal efficacy under the forgery statute.
• Whether the Defendant's actions constituted forgery as a matter of law under NMSA 1978, § 30-16-10(A) (2006).

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals reversed the Defendant's convictions on all six counts of forgery and remanded with instructions to discharge him from liability for forgery (para 24).

Reasons

Per Pickard J. (Fry and Castillo JJ. concurring):

The Court held that legal efficacy is a question of law and determined that the I-9 and W-4 forms, social security cards, and resident alien cards have legal efficacy because they are required by law and can form the basis of liability. However, the employment application lacked legal efficacy as it did not meet the statutory definition of a document with legal efficacy (paras 10-18).

The Court applied the precedent set in State v. Cook, which established that signing documents with a false name does not constitute forgery if the signer does not purport to act as someone else. The Defendant's use of assumed names to obtain employment did not represent the actions of another person and thus did not meet the statutory definition of forgery. The Court found that the Defendant's actions were analogous to those in Cook and reversed the convictions accordingly (paras 19-23).