State v. BarelaState v. Barela
APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF OTERO COUNTY
James Waylon Counts, District Judge
Hector H. Balderas, Attorney General
Santa Fe, NM
Charles J. Gutierrez, Assistant Attorney General
Albuquerque, NM
for Appellee
Bennett J. Baur, Chief Public Defender
Will O‘Connell, Assistant Appellate Defender
Santa Fe, NM
for Appellant
GALLEGOS, Judge.
{1} Defendant James Edward Barela appeals his conviction for felony battery against a household member,
BACKGROUND
{2} Following a physical altercation between Defendant and Ms. Rebecka Gray (Victim), the mother of his son, the State indicted Defendant for one count of child abuse, one count of false imprisonment, and one count of battery against a household member. Immediately prior to trial, Defendant pleaded no contest to a count of felony battery against a household member. Following trial, a jury convicted Defendant of false imprisonment but acquitted him of the child abuse count. The district court sentenced him to one and a half years incarceration for each count. Further, based on a prior felony conviction, the district court imposed a one-year habitual offender enhancement for each count, resulting in a five-year sentence. Defendant then appealed to this Court.
DISCUSSION
A. Habitual Offender Enhancement
{3} Defendant, a three-time domestic violence offender, pleaded no contest to, and was convicted of, felony battery against a household member, contrary to
{4} Statutory interpretation is a matter of law that is reviewed de novo. State v. Rapchack, 2011-NMCA-116, ¶ 8, 150 N.M. 716, 265 P.3d 1289. Our goal when interpreting statutes is to give effect to the intent of the Legislature by applying the plain meaning of the words in the statute unless doing so would lead to an absurd or unreasonable result. Id.
{5} We thus begin with the plain meaning of the statutes at issue.
{6} As stated above, however, Defendant argues that the district court‘s imposition of the habitual offender enhancement was improper under Anaya. In Anaya, our Supreme Court addressed whether a felony driving while intoxicated (DWI) conviction was subject to the habitual offender enhancement. 1997-NMSC-010, ¶¶ 26-36. The Court ultimately concluded that it was not, reasoning that the “insurmountable ambiguity” as to whether the Legislature intended for the habitual offender enhancement to apply to fourth-time or more DWI offenders required application of the rule of lenity. Id. ¶¶ 32, 35.
{7} Anaya was context-specific and much of our Supreme Court‘s analysis with respect to “insurmountable ambiguity” was based on the language of the DWI statute at issue in that case,
{8} Of particular note, in State v. Begay, our Supreme Court clarified that “[its] holding in Anaya rested not on a concern that the Legislature did not intend to create two enhancements for the same crime, but rather a concern that the Legislature did not intend to have a fourth or subsequent DWI offense considered a felony for purposes of the habitual offender statute.” 2001-NMSC-002, ¶ 9, 130 N.M. 61, 17 P.3d 434. Our Supreme Court also stressed its continued belief “that the Legislature did not intend to punish fourth-time or more DWI offenders in the same manner as other fourth-degree felons.” Id. ¶ 10 (alteration, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted). The question for us, then, is whether, given the plain language of
{9} First, our Supreme Court‘s analysis in Anaya largely turned on the fact that both the DWI statute, which falls within the Motor Vehicle Code and has its own separate, intricate sentencing scheme, see
{10} Second, the Court in Anaya concluded that there was ambiguity with respect to whether the Legislature intended to punish fourth-time or more DWI offenders in the same manner as other fourth-degree felons, based in part on the fact that (1) the DWI offenses were non-violent offenses, and (2)
{11} Thus, given the explicit application of the habitual offender enhancement to convicted felons under the Criminal Code, as well as the lack of countervailing indicia within either statute at issue, we do not see any ambiguity with respect to whether the Legislature intended to treat a serial domestic batterer (of a particular subset of close, intimate individuals) as a typical fourth-degree felon. In the absence of ambiguity, applying the rule of lenity is inappropriate. See State v. Edmondson, 1991-NMCA-069, ¶ 12, 112 N.M. 654, 818 P.2d 855 (stating that the rule of lenity is reserved “for those situations in which a reasonable doubt persists about a statute‘s intended scope even after resort to the language and structure, legislative history, and motivating policies of the statute” (emphasis, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted)). Consequently, based on the plain language of the statutes at issue, we conclude that the one-year habitual offender enhancement of Defendant‘s fourth-degree felony battery on a household member sentence was proper as a matter of law.
B. Speedy Trial
{12} Defendant was arrested on February 20, 2014, indicted on March 12, 2014, and scheduled to stand trial on August 21, 2014. On August 20, 2014, Defendant filed a motion to continue his trial. The motion was granted, and nine days later, Defendant made a pro forma demand for speedy trial. Defendant‘s trial was scheduled and rescheduled on the court‘s trailing docket three times; first in November 2014 when it came up ninth on the docket, then in February 2015 when it came up fifth on the trailing docket, and again in May 2015 when it came up fifth on the docket. Then on August 13, 2015, the day trial was scheduled to begin, the State filed a motion to continue the trial because it was unable to locate Victim, a key witness in the case. Defense counsel concurred with the motion, and the district court granted the continuance. On October 2, 2015, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the case for violation of his speedy trial rights. The district court denied Defendant‘s motion to dismiss, finding that the case was of intermediate complexity; that the delay was caused by Defendant‘s delay, the State‘s delay, and the court‘s schedule; and that the prejudice to Defendant was not so great as to require dismissal. Defendant‘s trial commenced on November 23, 2015. On the second day of trial, defense counsel renewed her motion to dismiss on speedy trial grounds, but the district court declined to revisit its prior ruling on the matter.
{13} Both the Federal Constitution and the New Mexico Constitution guarantee an accused the right to a speedy trial, recognizing “a societal interest in bringing an accused to trial and . . . [in] preventing prejudice to the accused.” State v. Brown, 2017-NMCA-046, ¶ 12, 396 P.3d 171 (alteration, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted). When reviewing a district court‘s speedy trial decision, we weigh and balance de novo four factors, derived from Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 529-30 (1972): “(1) the length of delay, (2) the reasons for the delay, (3) the defendant‘s assertion of his right, and (4) the actual prejudice to the defendant that, on balance, determines whether a defendant‘s
1. Length of Delay
{14} We begin by determining whether the length of delay is presumptively prejudicial—if it is, a speedy trial analysis is warranted. State v. Serros, 2016-NMSC-008, ¶ 22, 366 P.3d 1121 (noting that the length of delay, the first factor in speedy trial analysis, “acts as a triggering mechanism for considering the four Barker factors if the delay crosses the threshold of being ‘presumptively prejudicial,’ and it is an independent factor to consider in evaluating whether a speedy trial violation has occurred“). A delay is presumptively prejudicial if it extends beyond one year for a simple case, fifteen months for an intermediate case, and eighteen months for a complex case. Garza, 2009-NMSC-038, ¶ 2. “In determining what weight to give the length of any delay, we consider the extent to which the delay stretched beyond the presumptively prejudicial period.” State v. Lujan, 2015-NMCA-032, ¶ 11, 345 P.3d 1103. Greater delays will potentially weigh more heavily against the state, and delay amounting to little more than the minimum needed to trigger a speedy trial analysis will not weigh heavily in a defendant‘s favor. Id.
{15} We defer to the district court‘s finding that the case was of intermediate complexity and should have been brought to trial within fifteen months. See Ochoa, 2017-NMSC-031, ¶ 15 (deferring to district court‘s complexity finding and parenthetically noting that “the complexity of the case is best determined by the district court, which must consider both the nature and complexity of the crime“). We also note that Defendant‘s appellate argument that the case should have been considered simple is undeveloped, and we decline to address it. See State v. Fuentes, 2010-NMCA-027, ¶ 29, 147 N.M. 761, 228 P.3d 1181 (noting that this Court does not review unclear or undeveloped arguments).
{16} Defendant was arrested on February 20, 2014, and his trial began on November 23, 2015, resulting in a delay of twenty one months and three days. Because the allowable fifteen month period for cases of intermediate complexity was exceeded by six months, the delay was presumptively prejudicial and weighs slightly against the State. See State v. Montoya, 2011-NMCA-074, ¶ 17, 150 N.M. 415, 259 P.3d 820 (concluding that a six month delay beyond the presumptive threshold weighed slightly against the state in a case of intermediate complexity).
2. Reason for Delay
{17} The next consideration, the reason for the delay, “may either heighten or temper the prejudice to the defendant caused by the length of the delay.” Garza, 2009-NMSC-038, ¶ 25 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). There are three types of delay attributable to the state, each carrying varying weight in a reviewing court‘s analysis. Serros, 2016-NMSC-008, ¶ 29. The first type is “a deliberate attempt to delay the trial in order to hamper the defense,” which is weighed heavily against the state. Id. (alteration, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted). The amount of weight we assign against the state for the second type of delay—“negligent or administrative delay“—is “closely related to the length of delay[.]” Garza, 2009-NMSC-038, ¶ 26; see id. ¶ 29 (identifying “burdens on the criminal justice system, such as overcrowded courts, congested dockets or the unavailability of judges” as negligent or administrative delay (citation omitted)). Finally, where the delay is due to “a valid reason, such as a missing witness,” it is often “inevitable and wholly justifiable[,]” and we therefore balance the reasonableness of the state‘s efforts to move a case toward trial against the perils of conducting a trial “whose probative accuracy the passage of time has begun by degrees to throw into question.” Id. ¶ 27 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
{19} In summary, Defendant was subjected to approximately nine months of neutral delay, two and a half months of delay attributable to himself, and approximately nine months of delay weighed against the State. The delay that occurred outside the fifteen month deadline for cases of intermediate complexity stemmed from administrative delay in the form of an overburdened court docket and valid delay in the form of a missing witness. On balance, this factor weighs slightly against the State.
3. Defendant‘s Assertion of His Speedy Trial Rights
{20} In assessing whether Defendant asserted his right to a speedy trial, we look to the timing of the assertion and the manner in which the right was asserted, according weight to the “frequency and force of the defendant‘s objections to the delay.” Garza, 2009-NMSC-038, ¶ 32 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). While a failure to assert the right does not amount to waiver, we may consider “the timeliness and vigor with which the right is asserted.” Id. “Pro forma assertions are sufficient to assert the right, but are given little weight in a defendant‘s favor[,]” and a defendant‘s assertion of the right can be weakened by acquiescence to the delay. Ochoa, 2017-NMSC-031, ¶¶ 41-42.
{21} Defendant submitted two pro forma assertions of his right—each through different attorneys—at the beginning of his case. Defendant also asserted his right through a motion to dismiss one month before trial, almost five months after the presumptively prejudicial period had begun, and again during trial. While these facts would normally be sufficient to weigh this factor at least slightly in Defendant‘s favor, we also note that his assertions of his right were somewhat mitigated by his “acquiescence to, and responsibility for,” some periods of delay. State v. Samora, 2016-NMSC-031, ¶ 20, 387 P.3d 230. However, because Defendant‘s requested continuance occurred at the beginning of the case, and given the single instance of Defendant‘s concurrence with the State‘s continuance request, we conclude that this prong indeed weighs slightly in Defendant‘s favor.
4. Prejudice
{22} We analyze prejudice according to three overarching interests: (1) preventing oppressive pretrial incarceration,
{23} Defendant argues that because his case was delayed beyond the fifteen month period allowable for cases of intermediate complexity, prejudice may be presumed under Garza. We disagree. Though Garza did acknowledge that, “if the length of delay and the reasons for the delay weigh heavily in [the] defendant‘s favor and [the] defendant has asserted his right and not acquiesced to the delay,” a court may conclude the defendant‘s right have been violated without a showing of prejudice, Garza‘s holding remains clear—a defendant must make a showing of “particularized prejudice” to succeed on speedy trial grounds. 2009-NMSC-038, ¶ 39.
{24} The length of, and reasons for, delay do not weigh so heavily in Defendant‘s favor as to allow for the presumption of prejudice that he seeks. Defendant‘s trial took place only six months past the fifteen months allowed, and the majority of the delay was either valid, due to a missing witness, or negligent, due to administrative difficulties in scheduling. Defendant‘s general assertion that he was prejudiced by his inability to “work or live his daily life” is insufficient to establish the “particularized prejudice” required under this factor. Aside from this assertion, Defendant has put forth no further argument or evidence to demonstrate he suffered prejudice as a result of the six month delay, and we therefore cannot conclude that Defendant‘s right to a speedy trial was violated. We affirm the district court‘s denial of Defendant‘s motion to dismiss for violating his speedy trial rights.
C. Admission of Victim‘s Letters
{25} Defendant argues that the district court erred in refusing to admit letters written by Victim as prior inconsistent statements at trial, contending that the letters were admissible for impeachment purposes under Rule 11-613(B) NMRA. “We examine the admission or exclusion of evidence for abuse of discretion, and the trial court‘s determination will not be disturbed absent a clear abuse of that discretion.” State v. Stanley, 2001-NMSC-037, ¶ 5, 131 N.M. 368, 37 P.3d 85. “An abuse of discretion occurs when the ruling is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances of the case. We cannot say the [district] court abused its discretion by its ruling unless we can characterize it as clearly untenable or not justified by reason.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
{26} Rule 11-613(B) governs the admissibility of extrinsic evidence of a prior inconsistent statement. “Extrinsic evidence of a witness‘s prior inconsistent statement is admissible only if the witness is given an opportunity to explain or deny the statement and an adverse party is given an opportunity to examine the witness about it, or if justice so requires.” Rule 11-613(B). Clarifying the proper application of this rule, our Supreme Court in State v. Astorga explained the meaning of inconsistency as used to describe a prior statement: “the question is not whether the witness denies—or even recalls—having made the prior statement. . . . The question, instead, is simply whether the substance of the witness‘s trial testimony is inconsistent with the prior statement.” 2015-NMSC-007, ¶¶ 39-40, 343 P.3d 1245 (citations omitted). Astorga also clarified, however, that the admission of impeachment evidence under Rule 11-613(B) is “subject to the district court‘s broad discretion under Rule 11-403 [NMRA].” Astorga, 2015-NMSC-007, ¶ 40. Rule 11-403 provides the court with authority to “exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by a danger of . . . unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence.”
{28} Though the letters apparently did contain information that contradicted Victim‘s testimony at trial, Defendant‘s cross-examination of Victim revealed those contradictions and inconsistencies. As such, admission of the letters themselves would be cumulative, and it was within the district court‘s discretion to refuse to admit them. See Rule 11-403 (allowing exclusion of evidence that needlessly presents cumulative evidence); State v. Gallegos, 2007-NMSC-007, ¶ 26, 141 N.M. 185, 152 P.3d 828 (holding that an appellate court will affirm the district court‘s decision if it is right for any reason and does not prejudice the parties); see also Astorga, 2015-NMSC-007, ¶ 44 (noting, after conducting harmless error analysis, affirmance based on Rule 11-403 would also be proper under the right for any reason doctrine).
{29} Alternatively, even if the district court erred in refusing to admit the letters, such error was harmless. In assessing harmless error, “we look to whether there is a reasonable probability that the error affected the verdict[,]” and the defendant bears the burden of demonstrating that he or she was prejudiced by the error. Astorga, 2015-NMSC-007, ¶ 43. Because the letters and their contents, including contradictions with Victim‘s testimony, were thoroughly explored by defense counsel during cross-examination, and Defendant does not point with any particularity to information contained in the letters that was not revealed through cross-examination, Defendant has failed to demonstrate the prejudice necessary for reversal under a harmless error analysis.
CONCLUSION
{30} For the foregoing reasons, we affirm.
{31} IT IS SO ORDERED.
DANIEL J. GALLEGOS, Judge
I CONCUR:
HENRY M. BOHNHOFF, Judge
VARGAS, J. concurring in part, dissenting in part.
{32} I concur in the majority opinion with respect to its decision of the speedy trial and evidentiary issues raised in Defendant‘s appeal. I cannot, however, concur in its decision that the district court properly enhanced his sentence, pursuant to
{33} Our Supreme Court applied the rule of lenity in Anaya, when it found an insurmountable ambiguity as to the intended scope of the habitual offender sentencing enhancement statute and the felony DWI statute. The Court in Anaya considered whether
{34} I find the Legislature‘s intention regarding the application of a sentence enhancement to
{35} Given the highly punitive nature of the habitual offender statute, it cannot apply absent clear evidence that the Legislature intended such a result. See id. ¶ 31. When the Legislature enacted
{36} The State argues that because the language of
{37} Furthermore, I am not convinced by the majority‘s rationale that enhancement is appropriate under the circumstances of this case because
{38} Finally, I am not persuaded by the majority‘s differentiation of Anaya based on the fact that the battery statute does not mention “jail.” While the Anaya Court found the mention of “jail” to be additional evidence that the Legislature did not intend for the habitual offender enhancement to apply to felony DWI, it was the Legislature‘s silence that was “the strongest evidence that the [L]egislature did not intend the habitual offender sentences in
{39} I would apply the reasoning set forth in Anaya, hold that
JULIE J. VARGAS, Judge