State Ex Rel. King v. Sloan, 253 P.3d 33

Sloan, a New Mexico PRC Commissioner, was convicted of two felonies (aggravated battery and aggravated burglary).
Attorney General filed a writ of quo warranto seeking removal from office.
The Court announced removal from office and ordered supplemental briefs on timing of removal.
The office of PRC Commissioner is a constitutionally created elective public office.
Qualifications require one to be a qualified elector; felonies strip eligibility unless rights are restored.
The issue is whether removal for felony convictions can occur during the current term and when the forfeiture became effective.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether felony convictions during a term disqualify continuing service	Sloan argues convictions do not disqualify for remainder of term	Sloan contends impeachment is the exclusive remedy for felons	Felony convictions during term disqualify and quo warranto is valid
Whether impeachment preempts quo warranto as the removal method	Impeachment is the exclusive mechanism for state officers	Quo warranto can co-exist with impeachment as constitutional remedy	Quo warranto and impeachment can co-exist; quo warranto authorized
When the forfeiture of the office became effective	Removal should occur when convicted or sentenced	Forfeiture occurs upon conviction, not momentum of writ	Forfeiture became effective upon entry of judgment of conviction

State ex rel. Anaya v. McBride, 88 N.M. 244, 539 P.2d 1006 (1975) (quo warranto appropriate to remove unqualified officer)
State ex rel. Graddick v. Rampey, 407 So.2d 823, 826 (Ala.1981) (Ala.1981) (eligibility to public office is continuous)
Ulrick v. Sanchez, 32 N.M. 265, 255 P.2d 1077 (1926) (impeachment not exclusively required for state officers)
Cooper v. Albuquerque City Comm., 85 N.M. 786, 518 P.2d 275 (1974) (constitutional powers can coexist with legislatively created mechanisms)
Denish v. Johnson, 1996-NMSC-005, 121 N.M. 280, 910 P.2d 914 (1996) (synchronous constitutional framework)
State ex rel. Martinez v. Padilla, 94 N.M. 431, 612 P.2d 223 (1980) (quo warranto used to remove felon from office)