State v. Maestas

• Decision Date: 13 December 2006
• Docket Number: No. 29,178.,29,178.
• Citation: 149 P.3d 933,2007 NMSC 001
• Parties: STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Charles MAESTAS, Defendant-Petitioner.
• Court: New Mexico Supreme Court

Page 933

149 P.3d 933

2007 NMSC 001

STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Charles MAESTAS, Defendant-Petitioner.

No. 29,178.

Supreme Court of New Mexico.

December 13, 2006.

Downing & Henderson, P.C., C. David Henderson Santa Fe, NM, for Petitioner.

Patricia A. Madrid, Attorney General, Arthur W. Pepin, Assistant Attorney General, Jacqueline R. Medina, Assistant Attorney General, Santa Fe, NM, for Respondent.

OPINION

CHÁVEZ, Justice.

{1} Defendant, a municipal judge, was convicted of five felony counts of official acts prohibited in violation of the New Mexico Governmental Conduct Act, NMSA 1978, § 10-16-3(D) (1993), and five counts of criminal sexual penetration during the commission of the felony of violating official acts prohibited, NMSA 1978, § 30-9-11(D)(5) (2003). The Governmental Conduct Act prohibits legislators and public officers from requesting or receiving something of value in exchange for the promised performance by the public officer of an official act. Section 10-16-3(D). Defendant's convictions arose out of six sexual encounters between Defendant and a woman who was a criminal defendant in Defendant's courtroom. Defendant contends the encounters were purely consensual and at the suggestion of the woman. The State contends Defendant requested the woman perform sexual favors in exchange for leniency or under the threat of harsher punishment which could have resulted in her not seeing her children.

{2} In an impressive display of professionalism and strict adherence to prosecutorial integrity to see that a defendant has a fair trial and that justice is done, Assistant Attorney General Arthur Pepin, in a supplemental brief to this Court, raised an issue not previously raised by any attorney in this case: whether Defendant in his capacity as a judge is subject to the crimes enumerated in the Governmental Conduct Act. The issue arises because the Act expressly excludes judges from the definition of public officer. NMSA 1978, § 10-16-2(G) (1993). Applying the plain meaning rule and mindful of the statutory construction rule that prohibits courts from questioning the wisdom of legislation, see U.S. Xpress, Inc. v. N.M. Taxation & Revenue Dep't, 2006-NMSC-017, ¶ 11, 139 N.M. 589, 136 P.3d 999, we conclude that the legislature expressly chose to exclude judges from application of the Governmental Conduct Act. Therefore, Defendant could not be convicted of violating official acts prohibited under Section 10-16-3(D), and violating official acts prohibited could not be used as the predicate felony to support Defendant's conviction of criminal sexual penetration during the commission of a felony. Accordingly, we hold that it was fundamental error to convict Defendant under the Governmental Conduct Act and, therefore, reverse all of Defendant's convictions.

I. FACTS

{3} Both the State and Defendant interpret the pertinent facts of this case differently. What is undisputed is that Defendant, while a municipal court judge, on several occasions accepted sexual favors from a female who was a criminal defendant in his court. At trial, Defendant contended that the sexual encounters were entirely consensual, but that the woman and her boyfriend concocted a scheme to set up Defendant so that she could bring a civil rights lawsuit against the municipality where Defendant served as a municipal judge. Defendant asserted that the scheme involved the woman seducing Defendant, then claiming that Defendant coerced her into sex. Defendant argued that as part of the alleged scheme, the woman secretly tape recorded one of the sexual encounters.

{4} In contrast, the State argued that the woman was forced into performing sexual favors so that Defendant would lower her traffic fines, keep her out of jail, and not separate her from her children. The woman testified that after she appeared in Defendant's courtroom regarding traffic citations, Defendant requested her to engage in sexual acts with him in exchange for Defendant lowering her fines and keeping her from serving up to ninety days in jail. The woman further testified that she initially denied Defendant's requests, but that Defendant then threatened her that if she did not comply, he would not lower her fines, which would result in her going to jail, losing her job, and not being able to see her children. She also testified that she believed Defendant had the power to take her children away from her because Defendant was a judge. The State contended that Defendant did not reduce the woman's fines and refused to sentence her, causing her case to be rescheduled fourteen times, so that Defendant could continue to coerce her into performing additional sexual acts. The woman testified that she eventually grew tired of Defendant not following through on his promise to reduce her fines, so she decided to tape record a sexual encounter with Defendant. An investigation into the audiotapes resulted in three more women coming forward with similar allegations against Defendant, although Defendant was acquitted of all of the latter charges.

II. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

{5} Defendant was charged with committing forty-four different crimes, including criminal sexual penetration (CSP) during the commission of a felony, CSP with the use of force or coercion, criminal sexual contact, extortion, violating official acts prohibited, and stalking. The predicate felonies for the charges of CSP during the commission of a felony were extortion and violating official acts prohibited under the Governmental Conduct Act. CSP during the commission of a felony is one of six categories of CSP in the second degree enumerated in the CSP statute. Section 30-9-11(D). The CSP statute makes CSP perpetrated through the use of force or coercion a third degree felony. Section 30-9-11(E). Defendant was only convicted of five counts of official acts prohibited, and five counts of CSP during the commission of the felony violating official acts prohibited.

{6} Defendant appealed his convictions to the New Mexico Court of Appeals, arguing three grounds for reversal: (1) the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury that coercion was an essential element of criminal sexual penetration during the commission of a felony, State v. Maestas, 2005-NMCA-062, ¶ 13, 137 N.M. 477, 112 P.3d 1134; (2) the trial court erred in admitting certain expert witness testimony, id. ¶ 29; (3) the trial court erred in excluding evidence that Defendant's accuser operated a house of prostitution, id. ¶ 34. The Court of Appeals affirmed Defendant's convictions, holding that coercion is not an essential element of criminal sexual penetration during the commission of a felony. Id. ¶ 26. Additionally, the court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion either in admitting the State expert's testimony or in excluding the evidence of Defendant's accuser's alleged prostitution. Id. ¶¶ 33, 37.

{7} We granted Defendant's petition for certiorari on all three issues. After the parties filed their briefs, the State filed a supplemental brief alerting this Court that the Governmental Conduct Act, under which Defendant was convicted, appeared to expressly exclude judges from prosecution under the Act. See § 10-16-2(G). Although Defendant did not preserve this argument, we review the issue under a fundamental error analysis. See Rule 12-216(B)(2) NMRA; State v. Barber, 2004-NMSC-019, ¶ 8, 135 N.M. 621, 92 P.3d 633 (providing a fundamental error exception to rule preventing review of issues not properly preserved).

III. FUNDAMENTAL ERROR ANALYSIS

{8} The doctrine of fundamental error is applied only under extraordinary circumstances to prevent the miscarriage of justice. Barber, 2004-NMSC-019, ¶ 8, 135 N.M. 621, 92 P.3d 633. The doctrine applies if the circumstances "implicate a fundamental unfairness within the system that would undermine judicial integrity if left unchecked." State v. Cunningham, 2000-NMSC-009, ¶ 21, 128 N.M. 711, 998 P.2d 176. For example, if a defendant appears indisputably innocent of the crimes for which he was charged, or where it would shock the conscience to permit the conviction to stand, the convictions may be reversed under a fundamental error analysis. Id. ¶ 13.

{9} It is fundamental error to convict a defendant of a crime that does not exist. State v. Johnson, 103 N.M. 364, 371, 707 P.2d 1174, 1181 (Ct.App.1985). The question in this case is whether Defendant could lawfully be convicted of violating Section 10-16-3(D) of the Governmental Conduct Act. If not, then his convictions must be reversed under the fundamental error doctrine. In determining whether the Governmental Conduct Act applies to judges, we look first to the words the legislature chose and the plain meaning of that language. See State v. Davis, 2003-NMSC-022, ¶ 6, 134 N.M. 172, 74 P.3d 1064. "Under the plain meaning rule[,] statutes are to be given effect as written without room for construction unless the language is doubtful, ambiguous, or an adherence to the literal use of the words would lead to injustice, absurdity or contradiction, in which case the statute is to be construed according to its obvious spirit or reason." Id. Thus, we look to the plain language of the statute to determine if it is ambiguous, and if not ambiguous, whether following the language would lead to an absurd result.

{10} Section 10-16-3(D) of the Governmental Conduct Act states that "[n]o legislator, public officer or employee may request or receive, and no person may offer a legislator, public officer or employee, any money, thing of value or promise thereof that is conditioned upon or given in exchange for promised performance of an official act." A violation of Section 10-16-3(D) is a fourth degree felony punishable by eighteen months imprisonment. See NMSA 1978, § 31-18-15(A)(9) (2005). Because the language of Section 10-16-3(D) does not specifically include judges, we must determine whether a judge is considered to be a "public...