Court Opinion

ID: 9796881
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 04:07:31.545544+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:51:11.827293
License: Public Domain

ROBINSON, Judge (dissenting). {15} A violation of the IAD occurred when the supplemental information, containing the habitual charges, had not been tried during the required 180-day period provided for in the IAD. An habitual criminal information sets out certain charges that the Prosecution must prove and the Defense must defend against. These are issues which the court must decide. Among them: Is Defendant the same person who committed the prior crimes charged? Are the prior crimes ones for which Defendant was convicted during the previous ten years? Are the prior convictions considered felonies in New Mexico? There may also be issues of authentication of documents from other states. Evidence and testimony must be presented and a decision must be made based upon this evidence. Therefore, the matter was untried at the completion of the 180-day period and, under the IAD, the habitual charges should be dismissed. {16} The Majority views this as simply a sentence enhancement and the IAD does not apply to sentencing. I see a difference between an habitual and a regular sentencing proceeding. In a regular sentencing hearing, neither the Prosecutor nor the Defense has any obligation to present sworn testimony upon which a judge must base his decision on specific substantive issues. In an habitual proceeding, these issues must be tried to the court. {17} Another important difference is that when the State seeks a true sentence enhancement based on aggravated circumstances, it does not need to file an information while, in a habitual proceeding, it is necessary to file the habitual allegations as separate charges by a new or supplemental information. Because an habitual proceeding is more a trial than a sentencing, it is covered by the IAD. It is a hearing on the merits, after which sentencing takes place. {18} Therefore, Defendant has a right, under the IAD, to a final disposition of the habitual offender charges against him within 180 days of serving a request contemplated by the IAD. The State failed in its obligation and the criminal information containing the habitual charges should be dismissed. {19} The Majority, on page 643 of the opinion, states that “[t]he purpose of the IAD is to encourage the prompt disposition of outstanding charges to address uncertainty in treatment and rehabilitation for prisoners subject to a detainer from another jurisdiction. Section 31-5-12, art. 1.” I cannot imagine a defendant having more uncertainty and trepidation than when he is waiting to have a fully contested hearing that will decide whether he will spend a long time, or even the rest of his life, in prison. I would reverse. {20} I, therefore, respectfully dissent.