Court of Appeals of New Mexico
Decision Information
Chapter 66 - Motor Vehicles - cited by 2,960 documents
Rule Set 12 - Rules of Appellate Procedure - cited by 9,546 documents
Citations - New Mexico Appellate Reports
State v. Boyer - cited by 532 documents
State v. Franklin - cited by 481 documents
State v. Sutphin - cited by 510 documents
Decision Content
STATE V. CLASS
This memorandum opinion was not selected for publication in the New Mexico Reports. Please see Rule 12-405 NMRA for restrictions on the citation of unpublished memorandum opinions. Please also note that this electronic memorandum opinion may contain computer-generated errors or other deviations from the official paper version filed by the Court of Appeals and does not include the filing date.
STATE OF NEW MEXICO,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
KEVIN WAYNE CLASS,
Defendant-Appellant.
NO. 31,362
COURT OF APPEALS OF NEW MEXICO
September 29, 2011
APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF EDDY COUNTY, Thomas A.
Rutledge, District Judge
COUNSEL
Gary K. King, Attorney General, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellee
Jacqueline L. Cooper, Acting Chief Public Defender, Will O’Connell, Assistant Appellate Defender, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellant
JUDGES
JAMES J. WECHSLER, Judge. WE CONCUR: CELIA FOY CASTILLO, Chief Judge, RODERICK T. KENNEDY, Judge
AUTHOR:
MEMORANDUM OPINION
WECHSLER, Judge.
Defendant appeals his misdemeanor convictions for aggravated driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor (refusal) and for failing to maintain traffic lane. [RP 103] Our notice proposed to affirm, and Defendant filed a timely memorandum in opposition. We remain unpersuaded by Defendant’s arguments and therefore affirm.
Defendant continues to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction for aggravated driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. See NMSA 1978, § 66-8-102(D)(3) (2010). In support of his argument, Defendant refers to State v. Franklin, 78 N.M. 127, 129, 428 P.2d 982, 984 (1967), and State v. Boyer, 103 N.M. 655, 658-60, 712 P.2d 1, 4-6 (Ct. App. 1985). [MIO 2] For the same reasons provided in our notice, we affirm. In doing so, we acknowledge Defendant’s position that reasons other than intoxication affected his driving and performance on the field sobriety tests—such as his assertions that his headlights were obscured by caliche, that the lane markers were faded and difficult to see at night, and that he had back and knee injuries. [MIO 3] The jury, however, was free to reject Defendant’s version of the incident. See State v. Sutphin, 107 N.M. 126, 131, 753 P.2d 1314, 1319 (1988) (recognizing that the factfinder weighs the evidence and may reject the defendant's version of the incident).
Based on our notice and the foregoing, we affirm.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
JAMES J. WECHSLER, Judge
WE CONCUR:
CELIA FOY CASTILLO, Chief Judge
RODERICK T. KENNEDY, Judge