1998 -NMCA- 87, State v. Wasson

• Decision Date: 16 April 1998
• Docket Number: No. 18646,18646
• Parties: , 1998 -NMCA- 87 STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Bradley WASSON, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: Court of Appeals of New Mexico

Page 820

964 P.2d 820

125 N.M. 656, 1998 -NMCA- 87

STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Bradley WASSON, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 18646.

Court of Appeals of New Mexico.

April 16, 1998.

Certiorari Denied June 24, 1998.

Tom Udall, Attorney General, Ralph E. Trujillo, Assistant Attorney General, Santa Fe, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Phyllis H. Subin, Chief Public Defender, Will O'Connell, Assistant Appellate Defender, Santa Fe, for Defendant-Appellee.

OPINION

ARMIJO, Judge.

¶1 The State appeals the district court's order dismissing three counts of forgery arising from allegations that Defendant signed his brother's name to a set of traffic citations issued by a sheriff's deputy. Because we determine that these allegations fall within the forgery statute, NMSA 1978, Section 30-16-10(A) (1963), we reverse the district court's order and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. BACKGROUND

¶2 On February 28, 1997, a San Juan County sheriff's deputy stopped a vehicle driven by Defendant. According to the sheriff's deputy, Defendant identified himself as "Ryan Wasson" and said his birth date was September 14, 1978. After determining that there was no driver's license corresponding to the name and date of birth given by Defendant, the sheriff's deputy issued three traffic citations for failure to stop at a stop sign, no insurance, and no driver's license. Defendant allegedly signed the name "Ryan Wasson" to all three traffic citations. The sheriff's deputy later ascertained that "Ryan Wasson" is Defendant's brother.

¶3 On March 27, 1997, the State filed a criminal information alleging that Defendant committed three counts of forgery by making false signatures on the traffic citations. Defendant waived the preliminary examination on March 13, 1997, and responded with a motion to dismiss all the forgery charges on June 12, 1997. Defendant's motion asserted that his alleged conduct did not constitute the crime of forgery or, in the alternative, that his alleged conduct could be prosecuted only under the statute making it a petty misdemeanor to conceal one's identity. NMSA 1978, § 30-22-3 (1963).

¶4 On June 23, 1997, the district court granted Defendant's motion to dismiss based on its conclusion that Defendant destroyed the legal efficacy of the traffic citations by signing his brother's name on them. Without any legal efficacy, the district court reasoned, the citations could not evince any intent to injure or defraud Defendant's brother. This appeal followed.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

¶5 For purposes of this appeal, we assume the truth of the factual allegations in the State's pleadings. Cf. Rule 5-601(B) NMRA 1998 (defense may be raised by pretrial motion if it is "capable of determination without a trial on the merits"); 1 Charles A. Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure § 194, at 714 (1982) (standard of review for pretrial motion attacking sufficiency of indictment or information under Fed.R.Crim.P. 12(b)). But cf. State v. Ogden, 118 N.M. 234, 238-41, 880 P.2d 845, 849-52 (1994) (authorizing limited evidentiary hearing regarding factual basis for aggravating circumstances in capital-murder prosecution). Defendant's motion to dismiss does not attempt to contradict these allegations, see State v. Mares, 92 N.M. 687, 688-89, 594 P.2d 347, 348-49 (Ct.App.1979), and thus it presents a purely legal issue of whether forgery charges can be predicated on Defendant's alleged conduct, see State v. Foulenfont, 119 N.M. 788, 790, 895 P.2d 1329, 1331 (Ct.App.1995); State v. Tabaha, 103 N.M. 789, 789, 714 P.2d 1010, 1010 (Ct.App.1986).

¶6 Whether forgery charges can be predicated on Defendant's alleged conduct is a question of statutory interpretation to which we afford de novo review. See State v. Arellano, 1997-NMCA-074, p 3, 123 N.M. 589, 943 P.2d 1042. "[T]he language of penal statutes should be given a reasonable or common sense construction consonant with the objects of the legislation, and the evils sought to be overcome should be given special attention." Ogden, 118 N.M. at 243, 880 P.2d at 854.

B. Legal Efficacy of Uniform Traffic Citations

¶7 We first address the district court's conclusion that forgery charges could not be predicated on the traffic citations because Defendant destroyed their legal efficacy by signing his brother's name on them. The forgery statute provides, in relevant part, that "[f]orgery consists of ... falsely making or altering any signature to, or any part of, any writing purporting to have any legal efficacy with intent to injure or defraud." Section 30-16-10(A). Interpreting the forgery statute, this Court has defined the element of "legal efficacy" in terms of " 'an instrument which upon its face could be made the foundation of liability' and 'an instrument good and valid for the purpose for which it was created.' The writing must be such that, if genuine, it would apparently operate to the legal prejudice of another." State v. Nguyen, 1997-NMCA-037, p 14, 123 N.M. 290, 939 P.2d 1098 (quoting State v. Cowley, 79 N.M. 49, 52, 439 P.2d 567, 570 (Ct.App.1968)). Although forgeries often involve documents relied upon to establish financial obligations and entitlements in the conduct of private business, see id. pp 13, 15, 123 N.M. 290, 939 P.2d 1098, they also may involve "any document required by law to be filed or recorded or necessary or convenient to the discharge of a public official's duties." 4 Charles E. Torcia, Wharton's Criminal Law § 491, at 94 (15th ed.1996).

¶8 Uniform traffic citations are relied upon in the discharge of a law enforcement officer's duties. When an arrested person does not contest the violations with which he or she is charged, the uniform traffic citation functions as an agreement to pay a penalty assessment. See NMSA 1978, § 66-8-123 (1989). When the arrested person declines to accept a penalty assessment notice, the uniform traffic citation functions as a complaint which provides the arrested person with notice to appear in court. See id.; NMSA 1978, § 66-8-131 (1990). Moreover, uniform traffic citations may have legal efficacy because, "[i]n order to secure his release, the arrested person must give his written promise to appear in court or to pay the penalty assessment prescribed." Section 66-8-123(D). Even when the arrested person does not assume a financial obligation by agreeing to pay the penalty assessment, uniform traffic citations provide the foundation for liability because "[i]t is a misdemeanor for any person to violate his written promise to appear in court, given to an officer upon issuance of a uniform traffic citation, regardless of the disposition of the charge for which the citation was issued." NMSA 1978, § 66-8-126(A) (1978). For these reasons, other states have analogized a traffic citation to an appearance bond. See Rushing v. State, 684 So.2d 856, 857 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1996).

¶9 Based on these authorities, we conclude that the forgery statute includes uniform traffic citations among the types of writings which may purport to have legal efficacy. The district court's concern that Defendant's false signatures may have destroyed the legal efficacy of the traffic citations at issue here does not alter this conclusion because the statute plainly is not limited to writings which actually have legal efficacy. Rather, the statute applies to any writing which purports to have legal efficacy, see § 30-16-10(A), and the crime of forgery is complete as soon as the false signature is made on such a writing with the requisite intent, see Nguyen, 1997-NMCA-037, p 16, 123 N.M. 290, 939 P.2d 1098. Here the allegations are sufficient to show that the traffic citations purported to have legal efficacy because Defendant allegedly made the signatures to appear as if they were valid acknowledgements that he agreed to pay a penalty assessment or appear in court to answer the charges. See § 66-8-123; Black's Law Dictionary 1236 (6th ed.1990) (defining "purport" as "to have the appearance of being, intending, claiming, etc."). Thus, it was error to dismiss the information based on a lack of purported legal efficacy.

C. Intent to Injure or Defraud

¶10 We next address the trial court's ruling that Defendant's conduct did not provide a basis for charging him with forgery because he had no intent to injure or defraud his brother, Ryan Wasson. The forgery statute does not require that the forger intend to injure or defraud a particular person. See State v. Smith, 32 N.M. 191, 204-05, 252 P. 1003, 1009 (1927); 4 Torcia, supra § 477, at 73. In addition, there is no requirement that the person whom the forger intends to defraud or injure be the same person whose name is forged. See State v. Nation, 85 N.M. 291, 292, 511 P.2d 777, 778 (Ct.App.1973) (forger had requisite intent to injure or defraud pharmacist by knowingly presenting prescription containing doctor's false signature); 4 Torcia, supra § 477, at 73 (intent may relate to person not named in the forged writing). Hence, the inquiry is not limited to whether Defendant intended to injure or defraud his brother.

¶11 Moreover, a forgery conviction does not depend on whether Defendant actually succeeded in defrauding or injuring someone. The forgery is complete when the forger makes the false signature with the requisite intent, regardless of whether its falsity is detected before the forger absconds with the fruits of the crime or shifts liability to another person. See Nguyen, 1997-NMCA-037, p 16, 123 N.M. 290, 939 P.2d 1098; Nation, 85 N.M. at 292, 511 P.2d at 778. Thus, the forgery charges against Defendant are not precluded by the allegation that the arresting officer detected the falsity of the signatures before any further effort was made to hold Defendant or his brother liable for a penalty assessment or a failure to appear.

¶12 The current procedural posture of this case presents an additional obstacle to Defendant's contention that he lacked the...