New Mexico Court Approves Tribal Police DWI Stop in Gallup
The New Mexico Court of Appeals held that a Navajo Police Officer’s DWI stop of a motorist in the Gallup city limits was reasonable under New Mexico law. The Court reasoned that state law did not prohibit the Navajo Police Officer from making a DWI stop off of the Navajo reservation. The Court affirmed the district court’s denial of the defendant’s motion to suppress. State v. Martinez, 2005-NMCA-052; cert. denied.
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New Mexico Supreme Court to Review Protective Sweep Opinion
The New Mexico Supreme Court has granted certiorari in State v. Zamora, 2005 NMCA 39 (February 11, 2005); cert. granted No. 29,1117. In Zamora, the New Mexico Court of Appeals suppressed cocaine found in a partially opened medicine cabinet when Albuquerque police were conducting a protective sweep of a motel room. The Court of Appeals ordered the matter remanded for a new trial.
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New Mexico's Emergency Assistance Doctrine
New Mexico criminal defense lawyers and district attorneys will need to study State v. Ryon, 2005 NMSC 005 (2005), to learn the contours and discover the hidden gems in the recently announced New Mexico emergency assistance doctrine. In Ryon, the New Mexico Supreme Court announced the emergency assistance exception to the warrant requirment and distinguished it from the community caretaker exception. The Ryon Court, at once, expanded and limited the holdings in State v. Nemeth, 2001 NMCA 029, 130 N.M. 261, 23 P.3d 936 (extending community caretaker exception to warrantless home entries)
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