New Mexico Criminal Defense Legal Questions

The police need to do more than just say it will keep happening. They have an obligation to investigate and arrest him (with evidence). Them the D.A. Must prosecute. He may have burglaries of other houses. Upon conviction, the judge can stack those res burg convictions and give him serious time. If he gets out and does it again the he would face enhanced penalties. You have to be the squeaky wheel and insist that the police do something. If they don't contact the D.A. And if they don't do something, call the press. That will motivate them. Good luck with this.... Read More

From a practical standpoint, the facts you present should have been made known to the District Attorney during the investigation stage. If you did not disclose these facts, and the case has been dismissed with prejudice, it is unlikely that that the DA would or could re-open the prosecution.... Read More

If you have a felony conviction and received a deferred sentence, (under state law), your right to own a firearm is probably gone because the federal government does not recognize a deferred sentence as such. It will treat the conviction as a conviction from your plea of guilty and so you will lose the right to own a firearm under federal law. Even with a deferred sentence, I believe the best course of action would be to list that you have a deferred sentence. You can't hide the guilty plea in the criminal justice process. And that's really kind of the rub. An employer, if he/she does a background check would likely discover that you were convicted pursuant to your plea and probably treat this as dishonesty and either not hire your or may then discharge you, despite the fact that the court has "deferred sentence. Good luck with this.... Read More

Such a resolution means that the individual is pleading guilty to a charge in exchange for a deferment or imposition of sentence as it were. ?The person is then placed on probation. ?Upon the successful completion of that probationary period, the charge is dismissed but not necessarily purged of the criminal record.... Read More

These things are kind of squirrley. It may be that the government filed a Nolle Prosequi (dismissal) and that may not have been entered onto the court docket yet. Could be a number of things or it could be that the government has dropped the ball. Give it some time and check back with your public defender.... Read More

Wow! You've got a lot of variables that are difficult to address in this simplistic response. It almost sounds as if you are wanting to retract your plea of guilty due to inadequate advice. But, assuming you only wish to transfer your probation, it may be possible, but it would require a motion and a court order.... Read More

Well, a lot would depend on what the original underlying felony is, what his criminal record consists of, the nature of the probation violation, whether he's had other previous violations, whether he has had any failures to appear. whether he has ties to the community, whether the court considers him a flight risk or a harm or danger to the community. So you can see it is not as simple as one might think.... Read More

First the failure to read Miranda warnings does not invalidate a case. If he made a statement without such warnings, the statement can be excluded. This sounds like a he said/she said situation. The court will listen to the evidence and decide based on the evidence presented. the fact that he has never been in trouble before will help a lot if the court should find him guilty. and there is the possibility that the court may find him not guilty. Either way, he and his roommate will have to decide if they will continue to room together.... Read More

If her only task relative to the checks was to transport and cash the check, there would not be any liability. She didn't write the check, she is not a co-signatory, she didn't endorse the check, she didn't deposit it in her name or her account, assumedly. If there is no impropriety, then the owner would be the liable party. ?The question then becomes, what became of the $1,900 cash that was given to her at the time she presented the check?... Read More

The answer probably depends on whether the court instructed you to obtain one.? If the court did, and you didn't get one, then you will have to deal with the judge being upset over this.? If it is early, the court will likely instruct you to ensure that you apply and for the P.D. to file an entry of appearance.... Read More