AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

• The Defendant, while incarcerated at Curry County Detention Center, attacked a correctional officer, Officer Casanova, with a jail-made weapon during a dispute over the cancellation of his recreation period. The attack involved the Defendant stabbing Officer Casanova five times before being subdued by another officer, Officer Turvey. Both officers were struck by the Defendant during the incident (para 3).

Procedural History

• State v. Urquizo (Urquizo I), No. 30,337, slip op. (N.M. Ct. App. Nov. 23, 2011) (mem.): Affirmed Defendant’s convictions for various crimes including attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery upon a peace officer, holding that sufficient evidence supported the requisite deliberate intent to kill and that the convictions did not violate double jeopardy (para 1).
• State v. Urquizo, 2012-NMCERT-001, ___ P.3d ___: The New Mexico Supreme Court granted certiorari to review the double jeopardy issue but held the case in abeyance pending the outcome of State v. Swick (Swick II). The writ of certiorari was later quashed, and the case was remanded for further proceedings in light of Swick II (para 2).

Parties' Submissions

• Appellant (Defendant): Argued that the conduct underlying his convictions for aggravated battery and attempted murder was unitary and that his convictions for attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery upon a peace officer violated double jeopardy (paras 5-6).
• Appellee (State): Conceded that the conduct underlying the offenses was unitary for the purpose of the appeal but argued that the Legislature intended separate punishment for the offenses of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery upon a peace officer (paras 5-6, 8-14).

Legal Issues

• Whether the Defendant’s convictions for attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery upon a peace officer violate double jeopardy in light of the New Mexico Supreme Court’s opinion in Swick II (para 4).

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals of New Mexico affirmed the Defendant’s convictions for aggravated battery upon a peace officer and attempted first-degree murder, holding that the Legislature intended to punish the two crimes separately (para 15).

Reasons

• Per J. MILES HANISEE (CYNTHIA A. FRY, Judge, LINDA M. VANZI, Judge concurring): The Court applied the modified Blockburger test to determine whether the Defendant’s convictions violated double jeopardy. It found that the aggravated battery upon a peace officer conviction was not subsumed within the attempted murder conviction because the aggravated battery required the additional element that Officer Casanova be a peace officer in the lawful discharge of his duties. The Court concluded that the Legislature intended to punish the crimes separately, as evidenced by the distinct social harms targeted by each crime and the placement of aggravated battery upon a peace officer under a different article of the Criminal Code. The Court distinguished this case from Swick II by noting the specific intent element of attempted first-degree murder and the unique requirement for the victim to be a peace officer in the lawful discharge of his duties in the aggravated battery conviction (paras 6-14).