Court Opinion

ID: 9794393
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 03:05:01.634628+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:15:14.925249
License: Public Domain

HARTZ, Judge, specially concurring. I concur in the result. A defendant who questions the factual support for a denial of credit pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 31-21-15(0) “is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on the question of the propriety of the credit given.” State v. Murray, 81 N.M. 445, 449, 468 P.2d 416, 420 (Ct.App.1970). The issue in this case is whether Defendant can raise the question for the first time on appeal. On this record, I believe that she can. The rule of appellate procedure governing the preservation of questions for review provides, “[I]f a party has no opportunity to object to a ruling or order at the time it is made, the absence of an objection does not thereafter prejudice him.” SCRA 1986, 12-216(A). I would hold that Defendant did not have such an opportunity. No one mentioned Section 31-21-15(C) at the revocation hearing. Although statements were made that may have been relevant to that statutory provision (such as the prosecutor’s statement that Defendant had been hiding in Colorado for several months), those statements were directed at Defendant’s suitability for probation, not to whether the requirements of Section 31-21-15(C) had been met. Even when the judge gave his ruling from the bench, he did not refer to the section, nor did he make any mention of credit for probation time. As far as the record reflects, the only possible notice to Defendant that the section was at issue was the language in the state’s motion requesting that a warrant issue for her arrest. In my view, that motion, filed more than a year before the revocation hearing, was not adequate notice that Section 31-21-15(0) was to be considered at the revocation hearing. Thus, prior to the filing of the district court’s sentence, Defendant did not have a fair opportunity to object to the district court’s denial of probation credit pursuant to Section 31-21-15(0). Perhaps it would have been better if Defendant had promptly moved for reconsideration of the sentence, but the above-quoted language of Appellate Rule 12-216(A) would be meaningless if the failure to raise the issue by post-judgment motion precluded appellate review. I do not join in the majority’s application of fundamental-error doctrine because ordinarily we should not review a claim such as Defendant’s if the Defendant had the opportunity to raise the question in district court. Aside from the usual reasons not to consider a question newly raised on appeal, there is a particular risk of sandbagging when the question is the applicability of Section 31-21-15(0). At sentencing proceedings the chief function of counsel is to appeal to the discretion of the court rather than to prove or disprove the occurrence of specific events. Defense counsel may find it tactically unwise to present a challenge on every possible issue. In this context we should not permit defense counsel to await the appeal before calling for an evidentiary hearing. For example, the argument at Defendant’s revocation hearing was directed to whether Defendant should be sent to jail for a lengthy period or be given another opportunity to avoid incarceration. Defense counsel may not have wanted to dilute the force of the argument in Defendant’s favor by directing attention to Defendant’s evasion of her probation officer during the months after the arrest warrant was issued, particularly if defense counsel knew from sources outside the record (such as a conversation with the prosecutor) that the state could establish to the court’s satisfaction that Defendant had been a fugitive during the pertinent period. Or defense counsel, in making a pitch for probation rather than incarceration, may not have wanted to highlight any limitation on the time remaining for probation. Therefore, in this case if Defendant had clearly been on notice that either the state was seeking or the court was considering the application of Section 31-21-15(0), I would not consider a challenge raised for the first time on appeal concerning whether there was a sufficient showing of Defendant’s status as a fugitive. On this record, however, we cannot know whether defense counsel would have decided not to challenge the applicability of Section 31-21-15(0). In the absence of a fair opportunity for Defendant to raise the question in district court, the proper disposition is to remand for an evidentiary hearing. I agree with the majority that such remand does not violate the constitutional prohibition against subjecting a defendant to double jeopardy.