Court Opinion

ID: 9574941
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:09:45.005264+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:47:28.110980
License: Public Domain

MONTGOMERY, Justice (specially concurring). I concur in the result only of the plurality’s opinion. As indicated in my dissent filed today in State v. Trevino (cited in the majority opinion), I believe that, while CSCM (or CSPM in the present case) and CDM may be separately punishable crimes, to convict a defendant of CDM the State must present evidence showing beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant’s conduct caused or tended to cause or encourage the delinquency of a minor. In Trevino, the State failed to present such evidence. In contrast, this case illustrates what I believe is sufficient evidence to convict a defendant of CDM in addition to the convictions for CSPM. The defendant’s docketing statement states: “Linda Sue Walker witnessed [her daughter’s] involvement in various sex acts with individual men, and on at least one occasion participated with her.” The only issues raised in the docketing statement are whether the convictions for CDM were lesser included offenses of CSPM and whether the CSPM convictions should have been treated as fourth degree felonies, rather than second degree felonies, for sentencing purposes. Defendant has not challenged the sufficiency of the evidence for the CDM convictions. Facts in the docketing statement are generally accepted as true unless controverted. State v. Calanche, 91 N.M. 390, 392, 574 P.2d 1018, 1020 (Ct.App.1978). While this principle technically may only apply in cases in which a transcript has not been filed on appeal (i.e., when the case has been assigned to the legal or summary calendar), I believe that the facts in defendant’s docketing statement may nonetheless be taken as true because defendant herself stated them and because she has not challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain her convictions. Thus, it is established that defendant witnessed her daughter’s involvement in various sex acts (presumably, at least ten) with different men and on at least one occasion participated with her. This constituted sufficient evidence to enable the jury to find that defendant’s conduct caused or tended to cause or encourage her daughter’s delinquency — even if the conduct was “unitary.” Accordingly, I concur with the plurality’s conclusion that defendant’s convictions for CSPM and CDM do not result in double jeopardy and should be affirmed.1   . I note, however, that, contrary to the Court’s recognition in Trevino, 116 N.M. at 529, 865 P.2d at 1173, that a certification under NMSA 1978, Section 34-5-14(C), transfers the entire appeal to this Court and under the statute constitutes "a final determination of appellate jurisdiction,” the plurality remands this case to the Court of Appeals for further proceedings. I would have preferred that we decide defendant's other issue and affirm — or reverse — the convictions ourselves, rather than bouncing the parties from one appellate court to another.