NEW MEXICO COURT MONITORING PROJECT Year Two Report July 2017-July 2018 Funding for this project made possible by New Mexico Department of Transportation, Traffic Safety For more information contact: Franklin Garcia, NMDOT- 505.827.5100 Lindsey Valdez, MADD- 505.255.2955 NEW MEXICO DWI COURT MONITORING PROJECT Year Two Report- July 2017 through July 2018 Prepared by: Mothers Against Drunk Driving INTRODUCTION Mothers Against Drunk Driving has a longstanding history of leading the fight to eliminate drunk and drugged driving. MADD’s Court Monitoring Program has become widespread with its implementation in several states throughout the country. The goals of the program are threefold: 1. To compile pertinent information on how DWI cases are handled in the courtroom. 2. To elicit public interest in the management and outcome of DWI cases in the community by publishing annual findings locally and contributing to an annual report released by MADD National. 3. To report relevant information gathered by the project to appropriate entities in an effort to increase the efficiency of the judicial process. New Mexico DWI Court Monitoring Project began in July of 2016 and reports in six New Mexico counties: Bernalillo, Doña Ana, McKinley, Rio Arriba, San Juan, and Santa Fe. The project is funded through a contract with the New Mexico Department of Transportation. The five court monitors spent an average of 12 days in court per month, monitoring a total of 2,266 cases in the July 2017-July 2018 reporting dates. Of the total cases monitored, 1,613 were adjudicated and included in this Year Two Report. MADD shares bi-weekly data reports with NMDOT. A total of 24 reports were given to NMDOT that included the sanctions, prior DWI’s, and dispositions of the cases that were adjudicated in the previous two week period. These reports also included a list of accrued adjudicated cases to date. In the past year, MADD Representatives met with the New Mexico Department of Transportation three times regarding the New Mexico DWI Court Monitoring Program and also attended five NM DWI events. The court monitors participated in four training seminars in the past year and attended twelve monthly meetings conducted by the project supervisor. The annual disposition statistics for 2017, as published by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), are also listed for each corresponding county to capture the accurate annual disposition percentages as compared to the sample pool the project monitored. Also included in each county summary is a chart detailing the different dismissal reasons for the monitored cases. The monitors derived this information from meeting with District Attorneys’ Offices, being present in court during the time of the dismissal, viewing court files, and reviewing their notes to determine reasons that led to the dismissal. METHOD The Court Monitors monitored misdemeanor DWI cases in the Magistrate courts of their respective counties. To determine which cases were monitored, the monitors randomly chose DWI cases each week from the DWI docket of the courthouse they were monitoring. They were physically present for court settings and acquire case information from courtroom observation and, when necessary, from researching online databases in the event a monitor was not able to be present at the proceeding. The data was then entered into the MADD National Court Monitoring Database for reporting purposes. This report is designed to present observations and trends relative to the six counties monitored, and are not intended to be a statistical analysis. YEAR TWO DATA SUMMARY JULY 2017-JULY 2018 Total Cases Monitored 2,266 Overall Disposition Detail 700 Total Adjudicated 1,613 71% 597 600 543 500 Total Guilty 543 34% 390 400 300 Total Not Guilty Total Deferred Prosecution² 35 2% 390 24% 200 100 48 35 0 Total Dismissed 597 37% Total Amended³ 48 3% Not Guilty Deferrred Dismissed Amended Overall Disposition Percentages Top 3 Reasons for Dismissal Insufficient Discovery Officer Failures to Appear Guilty # of Cases Total Dismissal Percentage 130 22% 3% 34% 37% 2% 90 15% 63 11% 24% Guilty Hold Open Pleas Dismissal Rate Comparison Bernalillo Not Guilty Deferrred Dismissed Total Number of Open & Adjudicated Cases 38% Doña Ana 24% 653 McKinley 71% Rio Arriba 22% San Juan 1613 16% Santa Fe 35% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Open Cases Adjudicated Cases Amended COMPREHENSIVE DATA SUMMARY JULY 2016-JULY 2018 COMPARATIVE VIEW: OVERALL DISPOSITIONS Total Cases Monitored Total Adjudicated Total Guilty Total Not Guilty Total Deferred Prosecution Overall Disposition Comparison 1,721 1,106 64% 2,266 1,613 - 40% 35% 71% 36% 37% 35% 34% 30% 392 35% 543 34% 16 1% 35 2% 257 23% 390 24% 23% 24% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% Total Dismissed 400 36% 597 37% Total Amended 41 4% 48 3% 4% 3% 1% 2% 0% Guilty Not Guilty Deferred Dismissed Amended Year 1 Year 2 COMPARATIVE VIEW: DISPOSITION PERCENTAGES BY COUNTY Bernalillo Adjudicated Cases Doña Ana McKinley Rio Arriba San Juan Santa Fe Year 1 195 Year 2 432 Year 1 209 Year 2 343 Year 1 246 Year 2 306 Year 1 88 Year 2 105 Year 1 189 Year 2 208 Year 1 179 Year 2 219 12% 16% 26% 30% 32% 19% 43% 59% 70% 76% 37% 44% 3% 4% 2% 1% 1% 2% 0% 3% 2% 2% 1% 1% 34% 38% 44% 42% 18% 8% 17% 10% 2% 4% 20% 18% 45% 38% 28% 24% 48% 71% 18% 22% 26% 16% 39% 35% 6% 4% 0% 4% 2% 1% 22% 7% 1% 2% 3% 2% Guilty Not Guilty Deferred Prosecution Dismissed Amended BERNALILLO COUNTY July 2017-July 2018 Cases Monitored Adjudicated 824 432 - 2,628 Guilty Not Guilty Guilty-First Offender Track Dismissed Amended 68 17 165 16% 4% 38% 49.1% 2.1% - 166 16 38% 4% 48.9% - Disposition Detail 200 165 166 150 100 68 50 17 16 0 Guilty Not Guilty Deferrred Dismissed Amended Reasons for Dismissal Detail Statute and Procedural Issues 4 30-Day Rule (See Rule 7-504 NMRA) 16 11 5 2 6-Month Rule (See Rule 6-506(B) NMRA) Insufficient Complaint 1 Insufficient Citation 1 Failure to File Response to Motion 1 Initial DWI Investigation Issues 6 Failure to Establish Proper Deprivation 1 Period Probable Cause 4 Proof of Defendant Driving 1 Evidentiary Issues 128 Missing Pre-Trial Interview 10 Officer Failure to Appear Trial or PTI-Unspecified 24 Officer FTA Motion Hearing 2 Officer FTA PTI 11 Officer FTA Trial 15 Officer FTA both Trial & PTI 6 Officer Failure to Appear Due to FMLA, 6 8 Training, Illness Officer No Longer with Agency 3 Officer on Leave 2 Suppression/Exclusion of Blood Test 1 Missing Breath Card 1 Civilian Witness FTA 6 Suppression/Exclusion of Officer Testimony 3 Insufficient Evidence 34 Pending Further Investigation 2 Defendant in Federal Custody 2 Defendant Deceased or Found Incompetent 2 Result of Plea Deal 3 Transfer to District Court 4 Unknown 5 Disposition Percentages 4% 16% 4% 38% 38% Guilty Not Guilty Dismissed Amended Deferrred Dismissal Reasons Percentages 1% 1% 2% 77% 2% 10% 4% Statute and Procedural Issues Initial DWI Investigation Issues Evidentiary Issues Defendant in Federal Custody Defendant Deceased or Found Incompetent Result of Plea Deal Transfer to District Court Unknown 3% DOÑA ANA COUNTY July 2017-July 2018 Disposition Detail 160 Cases Monitored Adjudicated 386 343 - 1104 Guilty Not Guilty Deferred Prosecution Dismissed Amended 102 3 143 82 13 30% 1% 42% 24% 4% 77% 0.7% 22.2% - 143 140 120 102 100 82 80 60 40 13 20 3 0 Guilty Not Guilty Deferrred Dismissed Amended Reasons for Dismissal Detail Statute and Procedural Issues 6 Month Rule Refusal to Issue Bench Warrant Motion for Time Extension Denied Initial DWI Investigation Issues Unlawful Traffic Stop Implied Consent Lack of Reasonable Suspicion Probable Cause Evidentiary Issues BAC Below .08 Officer No Longer with Agency Blood Test Suppression/Exclusion of Witness Testimony Insufficient Evidence Officer Failure to Appear Officer Failure to Appear PTI Missing PTI Deceased Stopping Officer Defendant in Federal Custody Transfer to District Court Unknown Reason for Dismissal 5 3 1 1 7 2 1 1 3 54 10 1 5 5 22 4 5 2 1 1 9 5 Disposition Percentages 4% 30% 24% 1% 42% Guilty Not Guilty Deferrred Dismissed Amended Reasons for Dismissal Percentages 1% 1% 66% 11% 6% 6% 9% Statute and Procedural Issues Initial DWI Investigation Issues Evidentiary Issues Deceased Stopping Officer Defendant in Federal Custody Transfer to District Court Unknown Reason for Dismissal MCKINLEY COUNTY July 2017-July 2018 Disposition Detail Cases Monitored Adjudicated 365 306 - 618 Guilty Not Guilty Deferred Prosecution Dismissed Amended 57 5 25 216 3 19% 2% 8% 71% 1% 45.3% 1.9% 52.8% - 250 216 200 150 100 57 50 25 Reasons for Dismissal Detail Statute and Procedural Issues 6-Month Rule Trial Scheduling Initial DWI Investigation Issues 7 Jurisdiction Field Sobriety Test Issue Probable Cause Illegal Stop Evidentiary Issues BAC below .08 Proof of Defendant Driving Blood Test Essential Witness Unavailable Officer No Longer with Agency Suppression/Exclusion of Testimony Insufficient Evidence Prosecutor Failure to Appear Officer Failure to Appear Officer Failure to Appear PTI Pending Further Investigation Defendant Found Incompetent or Deceased Defendant in Serious Duress Defendant in ICE Custody Result of Plea Deal Hold Open Agreement* Transfer to District Court Unknown Reason for Dismissal 5 10 9 1 25 10 1 4 10 88 2 2 3 5 15 7 32 4 15 1 2 6 Guilty *A Hold Open Agreement is a pre-prosecution arrangement that states if a Defendant completes a victim impact panel, community service and DWI school, their case will get dismissed. Not Guilty Deferrred Dismissed Amended Disposition Percentages 1% 19% 2% 8% 71% Guilty Not Guilty Dismissed Amended Deferrred Reasons for Dismissal Percentages 3% 1% 1% 4% 41% 1 1 8 63 2 12 3 0 29% 1% 5% 12% Statute and Procedural Issues 5% Initial DWI Investigation Issues Evidentiary Issues Defendant Found Incompetent or Deceased Defendant in Serious Duress Defendant in ICE Custody Result of Plea Deal Hold Open Agreement Transfer to District Court Unknown Reason for Dismissal RIO ARRIBA COUNTY July 2017-July 2018 Cases Monitored Adjudicated 134 105 - 209 Guilty Not Guilty Deferred Prosecution Dismissed Amended 62 3 10 23 7 59% 3% 10% 22% 7% 53.6% 0.5% 45.9% - Disposition Detail 70 Disposition Percentages 7% 62 60 59% 22% 50 40 30 23 10% 20 10 10 3 7 3% 0 Guilty Not Guilty Deferrred Dismissed Amended Reasons for Dismissal Detail Statute and Procedural Issues 6-Month Rule Initial DWI Investigation Issues Jurisdiction Evidentiary Issues Missing Blood Test Results Missing Pre-Trial Interview Suppression/Exclusion of Officer Testimony Insufficient Evidence Officer FTA PTI Transfer to District Court Unknown Reason for Dismissal 1 1 1 1 18 4 2 2 8 2 1 2 Guilty Not Guilty Deferrred Dismissed Amended Reasons for Dismissal Percentages 9% 5% 4% 4% 78% Statute and Procedural Issues Initial DWI Investigation Issues Evidentiary Issues Transfer to District Court Unknown Reason for Dismissal SAN JUAN COUNTY July 2017-July 2018 Cases Monitored Adjudicated 253 208 - 523 Guilty Not Guilty Deferred Prosecution Dismissed Amended 158 4 8 34 4 76% 2% 4% 16% 2% 70.6% 1.9% 27.5% - Disposition Percentages Disposition Detail 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 2% 158 16% 4% 2% 34 4 Guilty Not Guilty 8 76% 4 Deferrred Dismissed Amended Guilty Reasons for Dismissal Detail Statute and Procedural Issues 6-Month Rule Probable Cause Initial DWI Investigation Issues Jurisdiction Proof Defendant was driving Evidentiary Issues Blood Test Officer No Longer w/ Agency Officer In Custody Insufficient Evidence Defendant Deported Transfer to District Court Result of Plea Deal Unknown Reason for Dismissal 4 2 2 3 1 2 14 3 5 4 2 1 3 2 7 Not Guilty Deferrred Dismissed Amended Reasons for Dismissal Percentages 3% 41% 9% 6% 20% 9% 12% Statute and Procedural Issues Initial DWI Investigation Issues Evidentiary Issues Defendant Deported Transfer to District Court Result of Plea Deal Unknown Reason for Dismissal SANTA FE COUNTY July 2017-July 2018 Disposition Detail 120 Cases Monitored Adjudicated 296 219 - 554 Guilty Not Guilty Deferred Prosecution Dismissed Amended 96 3 39 76 5 44% 1% 18% 35% 2% 49.3% 0.7% 49.8% - 100 96 76 80 60 39 40 20 5 3 0 Guilty Reasons for Dismissal Detail Statute and Procedural Issues 6-Month Rule Officer Not on Witness List No Witness List Filed Initial DWI Investigation Issues No Probable Cause for Stop No Reasonable Suspicion Evidentiary Issues BAC Below .08 Blood Test Officer FTA Trial Officer FTA PTI Civilian Witness FTA Trial Missing Officer PTI Insufficient Evidence Suppression/Exclusion of Officer Testimony Defendant Failed to Appear Trial/Hearing Defendant Found Incompetent Result of Plea Deal Unknown Reason for Dismissal 5 1 3 1 4 3 1 58 1 4 2 3 1 7 32 8 2 1 2 4 Not Guilty Deferrred Dismissed Amended Disposition Percentages 2% 44% 35% 1% 18% Guilty Not Guilty Deferrred Dismissed Amended Reasons for Dismissal Percentages 76% 3% 1% 3% 5% 7% 5% Statute and Procedural Issues Initial DWI Investigation Issues Evidentiary Issues Defendant Failed to Appear Trial/Hearing Defendant Found Incompetent Result of Plea Deal Unknown Reason for Dismissal KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: It is, again, important to note that the Court Monitoring Project randomly monitors only a sample of the overall DWI cases that pass through the courts. The year two results reveal similar prosecution obstacles that were found in year one. It was noted that evidence often does not successfully get received by the District Attorneys’ offices in its entirety and on time. District Attorneys site that complete discovery is crucial for the successful prosecution of a case. A streamlined, integrated discovery sharing process that applies to all enforcement agencies within a given county, may help to decrease the number of dismissals due to incomplete police-related discovery. Another noted pressing reason for dismissals is a lack of completed scheduled pre-trial interviews. Reasons often cited for such an occurrence are officers not being able to attend the interview and/or not responding to requests for scheduling the interview, often resulting in a dismissal due to failure to appear. Recommendations from the Year One Report are applicable to this reporting cycle as well, including increasing support staff and paralegals in the District Attorney offices to oversee the successful collection of all discovery and the facilitation of pre-trial interviews. Also, increasing the amount of attorneys in the District Attorney offices could decrease the amount of cases per person and allow for greater oversight. Another noted significant contributor to the dismissal rate is hold open agreements. A hold open agreement is the opportunity for a Defendant’s case to be dismissed if they attend a Victim Impact Panel, complete community service and attend DWI school. MADD encourages cases to be heard on their merits, to not be dismissed prematurely during pre-trial stages, and for sanctions of convictions pursuant to NM Stat § 66-8-102 to conform to statutory requirements. Such statutory requirements stipulate to the installation of an ignition interlock in all vehicles driven by an offender as part of the mandatory minimum sanctions, the usage of which MADD considers to be crucial for ensuring sobriety when driving by the convicted offender. GLOSSARY ¹ Total percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding. ² If a case disposition is Guilty with a First Offender Track or Deferred Prosecution, the Defendant has the opportunity for their case to be dismissed in the court record if they complete the sanctions ordered by the Court. However, the charge will be classified in their MVD record as guilty and can be used as a prior DWI conviction if the Defendant were to get charged with a DWI in the future. AOC Deferred Prosecution dispositions were reported as Dismissed or Guilty depending on the probation outcome of the Defendant. This may account for the disparity between the AOC and Court Monitoring guilty and dismissed statistics. ³ Amended dispositions reflect cases in which the DWI charge was dismissed and amended to either a Careless Driving or Reckless Driving charge. 4 30-Day Rule: within thirty (30) days after arraignment or the date of filing of a waiver of arraignment, the prosecution shall disclose and make available to the defendant for inspection, copying, and photographing any records, papers, documents, statements, notes, and recordings made by or of witnesses or other tangible evidence in the prosecution's possession, custody, and control that are material to the preparation of the defense or are intended for use by the prosecution at the trial or were obtained from or belong to the defendant. 5 6-Month Rule: A Criminal Trial shall be commenced within (182) days. 6 Officer Failure to Appear Due to FMLA, Training or Illness: Officer failure to appear due to Family Medical Leave Act, work sanctioned training or an illness. 7 Jurisdiction: District Attorneys can prosecute cases in state, city or county land. If a crime occurs outside of that jurisdiction, the District Attorney cannot prosecute the case. APPENDIX Court Monitoring Form: Court Monitoring Quick Sheet p.1 Information State Court House Cou rt nitor Present in court? Interpreter needed? Interpreter present? Wh at language? Judge Judge changed? Defen da nt Defendant Age Defen da nt Ge nd er Defenda ?it Race! Ethnicity Case# Date DLJI issued Ca se start date Case status open or closed? Case closed date Arre?ing of?cer? e? she resent? Prosecutor Prosecutor hange? Defen se attorney Defense attorney type? Defense attorney change? Court Monitoring Quick Sheet p.2 harge Information Alcohol related? EAC EAC obtained by BAC a mended? If yes. new EAC Initial plea Crash related? Criminal charge or rr'isde: '1an Propern' damage? Personal injury? Drug related? Prescription drug related? IChild present in the car? Classi?cation of charge as: etc.'- . Previous DWI con'n' ctions? Currenth on probation or parole? Ceurt Menitnring ?uielc Sheet :13 ISancticuns Se lI-rentence Disposition Lguilsy. rnl: gJi referred. If ammenclecl, I.l.rhat? If ammended lesser charge wh at type? Other disp cisiticbn? New case mher? h? am rne nded tcu I.l.rhat type? Classi?caticin cuf new.I charge if changed Minimum sentencing guidelines met? Did judge agree to plea? If not, explain Mistrial? Fleascins? Dismissed cur rescinded? Deferred prasecuticzn? Fincuther he ar ing sc heel led? Next hearing date Court Monitoring Cluin Sheet p.4 IEl?l?itienttlI ofCoLIr?t Could you hear the Was the hearing delayed? proceedings? No? Reasons? Reason for delay Other note s: ITyrpes of Proceedings Proceedings Case rt If other, please Date of Proceeding describe IDther i: harges Other Charges ICase rt Disposition of If other, please charges describe Date other charges dropped ISanctions Sanction Amount Ucensing restriction Time Ihours] Other sanctions Time Iday'] not listed Time [month] Case Logged into data base? Date logged? Ely whom?