State v. Ware

• Decision Date: 19 March 1993
• Docket Number: No. 13671,13671
• Citation: 850 P.2d 1042,1993 NMCA 41,115 N.M. 339
• Parties: STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert S. WARE, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Court of Appeals of New Mexico

Page 1042

850 P.2d 1042

115 N.M. 339

STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert S. WARE, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 13671.

Court of Appeals of New Mexico.

March 19, 1993.

Certiorari Denied March 24, 1993.

[115 N.M. 340] Tom Udall, Atty. Gen., Bill Primm, Asst. Atty. Gen., Santa Fe, for plaintiff-appellee.

Sammy J. Quintana, Chief Public Defender, Bruce Rogoff, Asst. Appellate Defender, Santa Fe, for defendant-appellant.

OPINION

MINZNER, Chief Judge.

Defendant appeals his conviction for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm. He raises the following issues on appeal: (1) whether the trial court erred in refusing to honor his peremptory challenge; (2) whether he could be convicted of both crimes; (3) whether his statements to police should have been suppressed; (4) whether the trial court erred in allowing the State to introduce evidence of prior bad acts toward his girlfriend; (5) whether the court erred in restricting his cross-examination of a State's witness; (6) whether his right to speedy trial was violated; and (7) ineffective assistance of counsel. We hold that the trial court erred in refusing to honor Defendant's peremptory challenge, and therefore reverse and remand for a new trial. Because we determine that the trial court's actions subsequent to the disqualification were void, we do not address Defendant's remaining issues.

FACTS

Defendant was indicted in Bernalillo County Cause No. CR-90-2284 on December 18, 1990, for aggravated battery and tampering with evidence. The charges arose out of an incident on May 5, 1990, in which Defendant allegedly shot another man. The case was assigned to Judge Murdoch. Defendant filed several pretrial motions, including a motion to suppress his statements to the police. The trial court granted the suppression motion in part and denied it in part. After the hearing on the motion to suppress, Defendant filed a motion to quash the indictment on the basis of grand jury irregularities. The State filed a nolle prosequi on August 22, 1991, representing that the case would be immediately re-presented to the grand jury.

On August 23, the grand jury returned a second indictment, virtually identical to the first, in Bernalillo County Cause No. CR-91-1518. The assistant district attorney also filed a "statement of reindictment" in the new case. The case was again assigned to Judge Murdoch. An arrest warrant was issued and arraignment was set. Defendant filed a notice of peremptory disqualification against Judge Murdoch on August 27. The clerk's office reassigned the case to Judge Smith on August 28. Upon learning of his disqualification, Judge Murdoch set the matter for hearing and subsequently struck Defendant's peremptory challenge, noting that a number of similar cases were being handled in the same way. While there was no testimony on the matter, the judge indicated that all of these cases were reassigned to the same judge to avoid the necessity of redoing work already done.

Defendant was convicted of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and the alternative offense, aggravated battery with great bodily harm. He was acquitted of the tampering with evidence charge.

DISCUSSION

Defendant contends that the trial court erred in refusing to honor his peremptory challenge. He argues that the nolle prosequi ended the old case, and the new indictment began a new case with all procedural rights reattaching. Defendant maintains that his peremptory challenge, filed within ten days after the second indictment, was timely. See NMSA 1978, Sec. 38-3-9 (Repl.Pamp.1987); SCRA 1986, 5-106(C) (Repl.1992).

The State argues that the new indictment was only a "technical restarting" of the case, citing the unique circumstances of this case. That the indictments in this case were nearly identical and that the cases were assigned to the same judge does not persuade us that the two cases were the same. Nor does the fact that the two cases had different docket numbers persuade us that the two cases were different. Instead, we look at the function of a nolle prosequi.

In essence, the State argues that a nolle prosequi is unlike other dismissals, and as such it did not nullify the original indictment filed in this case. The State points out that this Court has held that a nolle prosequi may not necessarily require the six-month rule to restart. See State v. Lucero, 108 N.M. 548, 550, 775 P.2d 750, 752 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 108 N.M. 433, 773 P.2d 1240, and writ quashed, 108 N.M. 582, 775 P.2d 1299 (1989); see also SCRA 1986, 5-604(B) (Repl.1992) (six-month rule).

A nolle prosequi is a dismissal of criminal charges filed by the prosecutor, usually without prejudice. SCRA 1986, 7-506(A) (Repl.1990); Black's Law Dictionary 1048 (6th ed. 1990). The State has wide discretion to dismiss criminal charges, and absent an abuse of that discretion, the trial court will not exercise its control over the movements of a given case. See State v. Ericksen, 94 N.M. 128, 130-31, 607 P.2d 666, 668-69 (Ct.App.1980). A trial court will prevent a district attorney from using a nolle prosequi to circumvent the Rules of Criminal Procedure. See Lucero, 108 N.M. at 550, 775 P.2d at 752 (generally a new indictment supersedes the original; however, where a nolle prosequi is used to circumvent the six-month rule, refiling of an indictment will not act to toll the original six-month period); Ericksen, 94 N.M. at 130-31, 607 P.2d at 668-69 (prosecutor may not utilize nolle prosequi to achieve a barred result).

Allowing the same six-month time period to apply after a nolle prosequi is filed does not cut against the argument that the original case has ended; rather, it is a trial court's method of preventing the prosecution from abusing its wide discretion in dismissing charges. See State ex rel. Delgado v. Stanley, 83 N.M. 626, 627, 495 P.2d 1073, 1074 (1972); Lucero, 108 N.M. at 550, 775 P.2d at 752. In other words, a nolle prosequi is as final as any other dismissal with or without prejudice.

Other New Mexico law is consistent with the above analysis. For example, holding that a nolle prosequi voids a previous indictment and allows a case to start anew is consistent with the way a grand jury is charged. A grand jury is not allowed to inquire into a crime for which a valid indictment has previously been filed. NMSA 1978, Sec. 31-6-9 (Repl.Pamp.1984). However, Section 31-6-9 does not prevent a district attorney from reindicting a suspect where there is a flaw in the original indictment. State v. Edwards, 97 N.M. 141, 143, 637 P.2d 572, 574 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 97 N.M. 621, 642 P.2d 607 (1981). It makes sense, therefore, to treat an indictment filed before a nolle prosequi as void. See State v. Montoya, 95 N.M. 433, 434-35, 622 P.2d 1053, 1054-55 (Ct.App.) (second indictment valid because nolle prosequi invalidates the first indictment), writ quashed, 95 N.M. 426, 622 P.2d 1046 (1981). Because a criminal prosecution can only begin by filing an information, indictment, or complaint, SCRA 1986, 5-201 (Repl.1992), once an indictment is deemed void, a new case against a suspect may only begin with the refiling of charges.

The State asks us to hold that the second indictment was simply a reinstatement or continuation of the first. Our Supreme Court has previously rejected a similar argument. See Delgado, 83 N.M. at 627-28, 495 P.2d at 1074-75 (denying writ of prohibition where petitioners argued that a second prosecution, filed after the first prosecution was dismissed by nolle prosequi, was merely a continuation of the first). Further, our Rules of Criminal Procedure simply do not provide for the "reinstatement" or "continuation" of a dismissed indictment, even in the interests of judicial economy. Compare Morgan v. State, 673 P.2d 897, 901 (Alaska Ct.App.1983) (Alaska rule of criminal procedure permits relaxation of rules to prevent injustice) with Williams v. State, 494 So.2d 819, 822-23 (Ala.Crim.App.) (Alabama rule of procedure expressly permitted reinstatement) cert. denied,494 So.2d 819 (1986). Nor has the State cited anything in our Rules of Criminal Procedure or case law directly supporting the proposition that a new indictment can simply be viewed as a reinstatement or continuation of an old one. To the contrary, once the State has filed a nolle prosequi, the charge cannot be reinstated, since there is nothing pending to reinstate. People v. DeBlieck, 181 Ill.App.3d 600, 130 Ill.Dec. 321, 325, 537 N.E.2d 388, 392 (1989); compare Morgan, 673 P.2d at 901 (trial court could allow reinstatement of dismissed indictment under aforementioned rule of criminal procedure; trial court wanted to spare rape victim trauma of testifying before grand jury again) with Williams, 494 So.2d at 824 (recognized reinstatement of an indictment that has been unconditionally nolle prossed during same term of court).

The State cautions this Court that Defendant's argument places form over substance and encourages forum shopping. We are mindful of our duty to interpret the Rules of Criminal Procedure with logic and common sense to avoid absurd results. See State v. Portillo, 110 N.M. 135, 137, 793 P.2d 265, 267 (1990); see also SCRA 1986, 5-101(B) (Repl.1992). Nor may a party manipulate the rules in order to obtain a favorable judge. See Ericksen, 94 N.M. at 130, 607 P.2d at 668. New Mexico courts have declared that they will "look past the form to the substance" when considering the effects of a nolle prosequi on the six-month rule. See, e.g., Delgado, 83 N.M. at 627-28, 495 P.2d at 1074-75; Ericksen, 94 N.M. at 130-31, 607 P.2d at 668-69. Those courts have said that they will not allow the filing of a nolle prosequi to control the resolution of a six-month rule issue. Thus, they have not been willing to treat every nolle prosequi as starting the six-month clock anew.

Nevertheless, holding that the nolle prosequi in this case did not end the prior criminal...