State v. Ramos-ArenasState v. Ramos-Arenas
VANZI, Judge.
BACKGROUND
{2} Defendant was charged with two counts of impersonating a peace officer arising out of separate incidents in which he pretended to be a United States border patrol agent. Officer George Bernal, a New Mexico State Police Officer, testified that on February 24, 2008, he stopped a vehicle in which Defendant was a passenger. Because the driver was cooperative and admitted that she had been speeding, the officer decided to issue her a citation with a lower penalty assessment. While the officer was speaking with the driver, Defendant told the officer that he was a border patrol agent and that he worked in San Diego. The officer asked for Defendant‘s credentials—his badge and identification—but Defendant said that he did not have them with him and that he had left them at home. Although he did not have his credentials, based on the fact that Defendant “was a fellow law enforcement officer” and because the driver was cooperative, the officer decided to “go ahead and just make this a written warning.”
{3} On March 11, 2008, Defendant again impersonated a border patrol agent. Lucy Jimenez, a victim‘s advocate with the Las Cruces District Attorney‘s Office, testified that on that date, she was driving back to her office in the late morning after dropping off a client, when she noticed a truck in her rear-view mirror moving toward her. As she reached an intersection, the truck accelerated past Jimenez and blocked her car from moving. Defendant, who was wearing a green border patrol shirt and a silver badge on his belt, got out of the truck and approached Jimenez‘s vehicle. Jimenez lowered her window two to three inches. Defendant told Jimenez that she had broken the law by “transporting illegal aliens” and asked for her identification. Jimenez put her district attorney identification up to the window, and Defendant then asked for Jimenez‘s driver‘s license. Jimenez became concerned because she did not see a name tag on Defendant‘s shirt, so she asked for his identification. Defendant responded by asking again for her driver‘s license and tapped on the window, telling
{4} Prior to trial, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 5-601(B) NMRA. He argued that the United States Border Patrol is a subdivision of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the federal Department of Homeland Security and that the statutory definition of a peace officer is limited to New Mexico state officials and officers. The district court denied Defendant‘s motion, and the case proceeded to trial. Defendant raised the issue again at the close of trial and tendered a jury instruction that read in part that in order to convict him for the crime of impersonating a peace officer, the jury had to find that Defendant “pretended to be an officer of the State of New Mexico or any of its political subdivisions.” The district court rejected the proposed instruction, and Defendant was convicted by a jury on all counts.
DISCUSSION
{5} On appeal, we first address Defendant‘s argument that the district court erred in failing to dismiss the two counts of impersonating a peace officer in violation of
Section 30-27-2.1 Applies to the Impersonation of Federal Officers
{6} “We review questions of statutory interpretation de novo.” State v. Moya, 2007-NMSC-027, ¶ 2, 141 N.M. 817, 161 P.3d 862 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). When interpreting a statute, our primary goal is to determine and give effect to the Legislature‘s intent. Id. ¶ 6. In doing so, we first look “to the words the Legislature chose and the plain meaning of the language.” Id. “The words of a statute, including terms not statutorily defined, should be given their ordinary meaning absent clear and express legislative intention to the contrary.” State v. Ogden, 118 N.M. 234, 242, 880 P.2d 845, 853 (1994). We will “apply the plain meaning of the statute unless the language is doubtful, ambiguous, or an adherence to the literal use of the words would lead to injustice, absurdity, or contradiction, in which case the statute is to be construed according to its obvious spirit or reason.” State v. Tafoya, 2010-NMSC-019, ¶ 10, 148 N.M. 391, 237 P.3d 693 (internal
{7} Defendant argues that the Legislature limited the definition of “peace officer” to New Mexico state officials and officers and that it did not intend for the statute to include the impersonation of federal agents. Thus, Defendant contends, the charges against him for impersonating a federal border patrol agent should have been dismissed. The State asserts that the plain language of
{8} Section 30-27-2.1(A), (C), provides, in relevant part,
A. Impersonating a peace officer consists of:
(1) without due authority exercising or attempting to exercise the functions of a peace officer; or
(2) pretending to be a peace officer with the intent to deceive another person.
. . . .
C. As used in this section, “peace officer” means any public official or public officer vested by law with a duty to maintain public order or to make arrests for crime, whether that duty extends to all crimes or is limited to specific crimes.
(Emphasis added.)
{9} As we have noted, Defendant argues that the definition of “peace officer” is limited by the Legislature‘s use of the term “public officer.” “Public officer” is uniformly defined for purposes of the Criminal Code as “any elected or appointed officer of the state or any of its political subdivisions[.]”
{10} When interpreting a statute, we must interpret it “in its entirety, so that each part of the statute is given meaning and no part is superfluous.” Moya, 2007-NMSC-027, ¶ 9; State v. Javier M., 2001-NMSC-030, ¶ 32, 131 N.M. 1, 33 P.3d 1. Section 30-27-2.1(C) defines “peace officer” as “any public official or public officer.” (Emphasis added.) See
{11} The ordinary meaning of a public official is “[o]ne who holds or is invested with a public office; a person elected or appointed to carry out some portion of a government‘s sovereign powers.” Black‘s Law Dictionary 1195 (9th ed. 2009). Accordingly, “public official” has a broader meaning than “public officer.” Further, it is clear that the power to carry out some portion of the state‘s sovereign powers includes the power to maintain order or make arrests. See
{13} The Texas court‘s interpretation of its penal code comports with our understanding of the legislative purpose behind
The District Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion When It Denied Defendant‘s Motion for Mistrial
{14} Defendant argues that a statement made by the State in its closing argument amounted to prosecutorial misconduct and that the district court erred in denying his motion for mistrial. During the course of the trial, Defendant‘s employer and others testified that Defendant told them he had previously been enrolled in the Border Patrol Academy (Academy) and that he left due to the death of his father or a death in the family. In fact, Defendant was withdrawn from the Academy due to inappropriate conduct. At the end of his closing argument, the prosecutor discussed Defendant‘s credibility and, in particular, Defendant‘s claims that he left the Academy because of the death of his father, stating,
[R]ationalization is something important to [Defendant], he can rationalize the death of his father to get a job. The death of his father. He could have said, “No, I left it because my ankle was hurting in the Border Patrol. My knee got hurt . . .” He had to kill his father. He had to say because of his father‘s death. “My father‘s death [led] me to leave.” This is a person who will rationalize.
After the prosecutor concluded his closing and before the jury retired, defense counsel asked to approach the bench and moved for a mistrial on the ground‘s that prosecutor‘s comment, “[h]e had to kill his father,” was said only to inflame the jury. The court denied the motion.
{15} On appeal Defendant argues that the prosecutor‘s comments in his closing argument created a prejudicial effect on the jury‘s verdict and deprived him of his constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial. He asserts specifically that “the jury could have convicted him because it thought he was a bad person who deserved to be punished.” Thus, Defendant argues, the only remedy for the prosecutorial misconduct was a mistrial, and the district court abused its discretion in denying the motion.
{16} Where the error is preserved, “[w]e review a [district] court‘s denial of a motion for mistrial on the basis of remarks made in closing argument for an abuse of discretion.” State v. Fry, 2006-NMSC-001, ¶ 50, 138 N.M. 700, 126 P.3d 516; State v. Reynolds, 111 N.M. 263, 266, 804 P.2d 1082, 1085 (Ct. App. 1990) (“Because the
{17} The question on appeal is whether Defendant was deprived of a fair trial by the prosecutor‘s statement, “[h]e killed his father.” See id. To answer this question, “we review the comment in context with the closing argument as a whole . . . so that we may gain a full understanding of the comments and their potential effect on the jury.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). “[T]he general rule is that an isolated comment made during closing argument is not sufficient to warrant reversal.” Sosa, 2009-NMSC-056, ¶ 29 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Our review of the transcripts establishes that the prosecutor‘s comment that Defendant “killed his father” was isolated. Put in context, it is evident that the prosecutor was attacking Defendant‘s credibility and that he was doing so by reminding the jury that Defendant had lied about why he left the border patrol academy. The prosecutor‘s choice of phrasing could have been better. However, attorneys are afforded “reasonable latitude in their closing statements,” and rebuttal in particular is responsive and “not always capable of the precision that goes into prepared remarks.” Id. ¶¶ 24-25. Given this latitude, the context in which the statement was made, and the evidence of guilt offered against Defendant, we cannot see a substantial likelihood that the statement prejudiced the jury so as to deny him a fair trial. The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant‘s motion for mistrial.
There Is No Showing of Prosecutorial Vindictiveness; Defendant‘s Double Jeopardy Rights Were Not Violated; and Defendant‘s Objection to an In-Court Identification Was Not Preserved
{19} Defendant argues that the amendment of the criminal information to include the count based on the February 24, 2008 incident was a result of prosecutorial vindictiveness. He also contends that being charged in state court for the February 24, 2008 incident after he had already been convicted for it in federal court violated his right to be free from double jeopardy. He raised these issues in a pretrial motion to dismiss and argues that the district court erred in denying that motion. We address each of these points in turn.
{20} A defendant‘s claim of prosecutorial vindictiveness presents a mixed question of fact and law. State v. Brule, 1999-NMSC-026, ¶ 6, 127 N.M. 368, 981 P.2d 782. Here, the facts are not in dispute, so our review is purely de novo. See id. “Our focus in analyzing a claim of prosecutorial vindictiveness is on whether the prosecutor has done an act that would not have occurred but for hostility or punitive animus toward the defendant because [the defendant] exercised a specific legal right.” Id. ¶ 10 (alteration, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted). As the basis for Defendant‘s claim, Defendant asserts that the prosecutor amended the criminal information because the prosecutor failed to obtain a conviction against defendant in his first trial in state court. Defendant does not identify a specific legal right that he exercised nor does he argue that the prosecutor‘s amendment to the criminal information was in response to the exercise of a specific legal right. Defendant has not established the basis for a claim of prosecutorial vindictiveness, and the district court‘s denial of his motion was proper.
{21} Defendant also contends that the district court erred in refusing to dismiss the February 24, 2008 charge because it was added to the criminal information after he had been convicted in federal court for that crime. This, he asserts, violated his right to be free from double jeopardy. It is well established that where a defendant‘s conduct constitutes “a criminal offense within the geographical authority of more than one sovereign, each sovereign may prosecute regardless of what the other has done.” State v. Glascock, 2008-NMCA-006, ¶ 24, 143 N.M. 328, 176 P.3d 317 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). This is true where, as here,
{22} Finally, we address Defendant‘s argument that the district court erred when it denied his motion to suppress a witness‘s photo identification of him prior to the first trial. Defendant now claims that the admission of the witness‘s identification of him at his second trial was reversible error. However, Defendant concedes that he did not renew his motion to exclude the witness‘s in-court identification at his second trial, nor did he object at trial when the witness identified him in court. Defendant failed to preserve this argument for appeal, and we do not consider it here. State v. Varela, 1999-NMSC-045, ¶ 25, 128 N.M. 454, 993 P.2d 1280; State v. Balenquah, 2009-NMCA-055, ¶ 18, 146 N.M. 267, 208 P.3d 912.
CONCLUSION
{23} For the reasons set forth above, we affirm Defendant‘s convictions.
{24} IT IS SO ORDERED.
LINDA M. VANZI, Judge
WE CONCUR:
JAMES J. WECHSLER, Judge
CYNTHIA A. FRY, Judge
Topic Index for State v. Ramos-Arenas, No. 30,092
APPEAL AND ERROR
Standard of Review
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
Double Jeopardy
Due Process
False Imprisonment
Impersonating an Officer
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
Closing Argument
Double Jeopardy
Mistrial
STATUTES
Interpretation
Legislative Intent
Rules of Construction