State v. Hubble

• Decision Date: 31 March 2009
• Docket Number: No. 30,663.,30,663.
• Citation: 2009 NMSC 014,206 P.3d 579
• Parties: STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Rich HUBBLE, Defendant-Petitioner.
• Court: New Mexico Supreme Court

206 P.3d 579

2009 NMSC 014

STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Rich HUBBLE, Defendant-Petitioner.

No. 30,663.

Supreme Court of New Mexico.

March 31, 2009.

Hugh W. Dangler, Chief Public Defender, Nancy M. Hewitt, Appellate Defender, Kathleen T. Baldridge, Assistant Appellate Defender, Santa Fe, NM, for Petitioner.

Gary K. King, Attorney General, Anita Carlson, Assistant Attorney General, Santa Fe, NM, for Respondent.

Donna M. Bevacqua-Young, John Ward Wheeler, II, Santa Fe, NM, for Amici Curiae, New Mexico District Attorneys' Association and New Mexico Department of Public Safety.

OPINION

SERNA, Justice.

{1} Defendant Rich Hubble was convicted in magistrate court of Driving Under The Influence of Intoxicating Liquor, contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 66-8-102 (1953, as amended through 2004), and Improper Turning at Intersection, contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 66-7-325(A) (1978). Pursuant to Rule 6-703 NMRA, he appealed to the district court. During the district court bench trial, Defendant moved to suppress the evidence that was obtained from the traffic stop, which he claimed was conducted without reasonable suspicion. The district court denied the motion and Defendant was once again convicted of the same two offenses. Defendant appealed the district court's judgment and the Court of Appeals affirmed. We granted Defendant's petition for writ of certiorari on the issue of whether the initial traffic stop was based upon reasonable suspicion that he violated a traffic law. We hold that the traffic stop was based upon reasonable suspicion and we affirm the denial of Defendant's motion to suppress.

I. BACKGROUND

{2} On the evening of February 15, 2005, Deputy Phillip Francisco was driving southbound on County Road 6100 when he observed Defendant's vehicle come to a stop at a "T" intersection between County Road 6100 and an unnamed access road. Aside from the vehicles belonging to Deputy Francisco and Defendant, there were no other vehicles on either the county road or the access road. As Deputy Francisco passed through the intersection, he observed that Defendant did not have his turn signal engaged. Deputy Francisco continued to observe the vehicle through his rearview mirror as he proceeded southbound and never saw the turn signal engaged. Deputy Francisco then observed Defendant turn onto County Road 6100 without using his turn signal. Defendant and his passenger both testified that Defendant did turn on his signal before turning right onto Country Road 6100. Deputy Francisco pulled over to the side of the road about one hundred feet past the intersection and waited for Defendant to pass him. Deputy Francisco then proceeded to make the traffic stop on the basis that Defendant turned without using his signal.

{3} Deputy Francisco approached the vehicle and detected the odor of alcohol on Defendant's breath and observed that Defendant had bloodshot, watery eyes and slurred speech. Deputy Francisco also observed Defendant act in a slow, impaired, and disoriented manner when he was retrieving his license and registration. Deputy Francisco ordered Defendant to exit his vehicle and observed Defendant swaying and losing his balance when standing. Deputy Francisco asked Defendant if he had been drinking and Defendant responded by saying that he had consumed one beer. Deputy Francisco then had Defendant undergo the horizontal gaze nystagmus, the walk-and-turn, and the one-leg stand tests. Defendant failed all three tests and Deputy Francisco placed him under arrest. Defendant consented to two breath tests and the results indicated that he had a blood alcohol content of 0.12 and 0.10, respectively. Deputy Francisco issued Defendant a citation for DWI and for Improper Turning at Intersection.

{4} At trial, Deputy Francisco acknowledged that the turn signal statute dictates that a driver use the turn signal in order to indicate to other traffic in which direction the driver intends to travel. Deputy Francisco testified that he considered himself to be traffic that night.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

{5} "In reviewing a trial court's denial of a motion to suppress, we observe the distinction between factual determinations which are subject to a substantial evidence standard of review and application of law to the facts[,] which is subject to de novo review." State v. Nieto, 2000-NMSC-031, ¶ 19, 129 N.M. 688, 12 P.3d 442 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). "We view the facts in the manner most favorable to the prevailing party and defer to the district court's findings of fact if substantial evidence exists to support those findings." State v. Urioste, 2002-NMSC-023, ¶ 6, 132 N.M. 592, 52 P.3d 964. "Questions of reasonable suspicion are reviewed de novo by looking at the totality of the circumstances to determine whether the detention was justified." State v. Robbs, 2006-NMCA-061, ¶ 9, 139 N.M. 569, 136 P.3d 570.

{6} Defendant did not assert that the New Mexico Constitution afforded him greater protection than the federal Constitution, so we only address the issue of reasonable suspicion under federal Fourth Amendment law. See State v. Gomez, 1997-NMSC-006, ¶¶ 22-23, 122 N.M. 777, 932 P.2d 1.

{7} "Both the United State Constitution and the New Mexico Constitution protect a citizen against unreasonable searches and seizures." State v. Funderburg, 2008-NMSC-026, ¶ 12, 144 N.M. 37, 183 P.3d 922. Since an automobile stop is considered a "seizure" under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, it must "be conducted in a reasonable manner to satisfy the Fourth Amendment." State v. Duran, 2005-NMSC-034, ¶ 22, 138 N.M. 414, 120 P.3d 836. "Before a police officer makes a traffic stop, he must have a reasonable suspicion of illegal activity." State v. Anaya, 2008-NMCA-020 ¶ 6, 143 N.M. 431, 176 P.3d 1163. We analyze the reasonableness of a stop in accordance with the two-part test set forth in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 19-20, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968):(1) whether the stop was justified at its inception and (2) whether the officer's action was "reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference." Funderburg, 2008-NMSC-026, ¶ 13, 144 N.M. 37, 183 P.3d 922. Because there are no allegations that Deputy Francisco exceeded the scope of the initial interference, we need only examine the first part of the test—whether the stop was justified at its inception.

{8} "A reasonable suspicion is a particularized suspicion, based on all the circumstances that a particular individual, the one detained, is breaking, or has broken, the law." State v. Jason L., 2000-NMSC-018, ¶ 20, 129 N.M. 119, 2 P.3d 856. "The test is an objective one. The subjective belief of the officer does not in itself affect the validity of the stop; it is the evidence known to the officer that counts, not the officer's view of the governing law." State v. Muñoz, 1998-NMCA-140, ¶ 9, 125 N.M. 765, 965 P.2d 349. We objectively examine whether the facts available to the officer warrant the officer, as a person of reasonable caution, to believe the action taken was appropriate. State v. Madsen, 2000-NMCA-050, ¶ 9, 129 N.M. 251, 5 P.3d 573. We will find reasonable suspicion "if the officer is aware of specific articulable facts, together with rational inferences from those facts, that, when judged objectively, would lead a reasonable person to believe criminal activity occurred or was occurring." State v. Taylor, 1999-NMCA-022, ¶ 7, 126 N.M. 569, 973 P.2d 246 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

B. Section 66-7-325(A) Requires Engagement of a Turn Signal When There is a Reasonable Possibility That Other Traffic May Be Affected

{9} The determination of whether Deputy Francisco had reasonable suspicion to make the traffic stop does not hinge on whether Defendant actually violated the underlying turn signal statute. See State v. Brennan, 1998-NMCA-176, ¶ 12, 126 N.M. 389, 970 P.2d 161 (holding that, regardless of whether the defendant was ultimately convicted of careless driving, the officer had reasonable suspicion that he was driving carelessly and the stop was therefore justified). For clarity, we nonetheless take this opportunity to discuss Section 66-7-325(A) and review Defendant's Improper Turning at Intersection conviction.

{10} "The primary goal in interpreting a statute is to give effect to the Legislature's intent;" we first look at the words chosen by the Legislature and the plain meaning of those words. State v. Davis, 2003-NMSC-022, ¶ 6, 134 N.M. 172, 74 P.3d 1064. Under the plain meaning rule, when a statute's language is "clear and unambiguous," we will give effect to the language and refrain from further statutory interpretation. State v. Rivera, 2004-NMSC-001, ¶ 10, 134 N.M. 768, 82 P.3d 939. We will not read into a statute language which is not there, especially when it makes sense as it is written. Burroughs v. Bd. of County Comm'rs of Bernalillo County, 88 N.M. 303, 306, 540 P.2d 233, 236 (1975).

{11} Section 66-7-325(A) provides in pertinent part: "No person shall . . . turn any vehicle without giving an appropriate signal . . . in the event any other traffic may be affected by such movement." Thus, there are two elements in the statute that must be satisfied in order for its mandate to be triggered: (1) there must be other "traffic" (2) that "may be affected" by the motorist's turn.

{12} The "traffic" element is easily interpreted and any questions regarding its application in this case are easily resolved given the factual scenario. In interpreting the "traffic" element, we look to how the word is defined in our Motor Vehicle Code: "pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles and other conveyances either singly or together using any highway for purposes of travel." NMSA 1978, § 66-1-4.17(F) (1990, as amended through 2007). Thus, there is no doubt that Deputy Francisco, who was driving a vehicle on a highway, was "traffic" under Section 66-7-325(A). The...