(DOWNLOAD) "State V. Johnson" by In the Supreme Court of the State of New Mexico * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: State V. Johnson
- Author : In the Supreme Court of the State of New Mexico
- Release Date : January 20, 2000
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 71 KB
Description
¶1 In these consolidated cases, we are called upon to clarify the offense of driving while intoxicated (DWI) and define its parameters. We granted certiorari pursuant to NMSA 1978, § 34-5-14(B) (1972) in order to review two cases which have been consolidated to address whether the State can charge a defendant with DWI pursuant to NMSA 1978, § 66-8-102 (1997, prior to 1999 amendment) when the defendant is on private property and in actual physical control of a non-moving vehicle. After a careful and in-depth analysis of the applicable statutes, existing case law, and the policy underlying our DWI legislation, we reject any public/private property distinction with respect to the offense of DWI. As such, the State may charge a person who is in actual physical control of a non-moving vehicle with DWI despite the fact that he or she is on private property. Accordingly, we reverse the Court of Appeals' decisions upholding the district court's orders dismissing the charges against the defendants.