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, a 23-year-old living with a woman and her seventeen-year-old son, Cody, was involved in an incident where Cody brought other teenagers to their home. The Defendant was accused of buying alcohol for these minors and being present in a bedroom where sexual activities occurred among the teenagers, including coaching and physically guiding one of the interactions. The minors reported the incident, leading to the Defendant's arrest and charges related to contributing to the delinquency of a minor and providing alcohol to minors.

Procedural History

• Appeal from the District Court of Eddy County, J. Richard Brown, District Judge.

Parties' Submissions

• Plaintiff-Appellee (State of New Mexico): Argued that the Defendant contributed to the delinquency of a minor, sold or gave alcoholic beverages to a minor, and attempted to sell or give alcoholic beverages to a minor.
• Defendant-Appellant (Kenneth Davis): Contended that the district court erred in excluding evidence of his character for the safe and moral treatment of children, claimed errors in the jury instructions on attempt crimes, raised a double jeopardy argument, and alleged ineffective assistance of counsel.

Legal Issues

• Whether the district court erred in excluding evidence of Defendant’s character for the safe and moral treatment of children.
• Whether there were errors in the jury instructions given on attempt crimes.
• Whether the Defendant's double jeopardy rights were violated.
• Whether the Defendant received ineffective assistance of counsel.

Disposition

• The conviction for attempted selling or giving alcoholic beverages to a minor (Count 4) was vacated.
• The remaining issues raised by the Defendant on appeal were affirmed.

Reasons

• The Court found that any error in excluding testimony about the Defendant's character for the safe and moral treatment of children was harmless. The Court vacated the Defendant's conviction on Count 4 for attempted selling or giving alcoholic beverages to a minor due to an erroneous jury instruction. The Court did not address the double jeopardy argument due to the disposition of Count 4. Lastly, the Court concluded that the Defendant failed to make a prima facie showing of ineffective assistance of counsel. The decision was made by Judge Cynthia A. Fry, with Chief Judge Celia Foy Castillo concurring, and Judge Roderick T. Kennedy concurring in part and dissenting in part, particularly on the issue of the exclusion of character evidence being harmful error.