Court Opinion

ID: 9604629
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 02:24:34.037075+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:02:23.230673
License: Public Domain

SCARBOROUGH, Chief Justice, dissenting. I dissent. In this case, the majority relies upon police “misconduct” in order to reverse a jury verdict. Before examining the conduct of the police, however, we should note that Baca (defendant) admitted the essential facts supporting his conviction for trafficking in cocaine. Furthermore, defendant does not claim he is innocent of the offense, nor does he claim that he was in any manner threatened or coerced by the police into committing the offense. The majority concludes that defendant was improperly induced to make the drug sale upon which his conviction is based. The evidence relied upon by the majority to support this conclusion consists of instances where the police informer Granger “proposed” that defendant sell cocaine and “asked” defendant to sell cocaine. Such action by a police informer and collaborator, however, is no reason to upset a jury verdict. It was for the jury to decide whether defendant was entrapped, see State v. Romero, 86 N.M. 99, 519 P.2d 1180 (Ct.App.1974), and it rejected defendant’s entrapment defense. I would therefore affirm the trial court and Court of Appeals. Moreover, there is substantial evidence to support the jury’s verdict and its determination that defendant was predisposed to commit the crime for which he was convicted. It is not as if defendant was set up by the police. Defendant admits he went to the informer’s residence in order to purchase drugs for his own use; he admits drinking beer over an extended period of time with the informer; he admits traveling with the informer to another drug transaction; he admits letting the informer inject him with cocaine with no more than a verbal protest; but most important, defendant admits selling cocaine. In order to get around the substantial evidence of Baca’s guilt of trafficking in cocaine, the majority has rewritten the New Mexico law of entrapment. The standard of review adopted by the majority will prevent the state as a matter of law from utilizing undercover agents and collaborators on opposite sides of an illegal drug transaction. Cf State v. Alvarez, 93 N.M. 761, 605 P.2d 1160 (Ct.App.), rev’d. on other grounds, 92 N.M. 44, 582 P.2d 816 (1978) (use of police informer and undercover agent on opposite sides of an illegal drug transaction did not establish entrapment as a matter of law). The conduct of the police was properly examined by the jury in this case. The jury’s verdict should stand.