State v. Pino ( 2018 )

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1 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO
2 STATE OF NEW MEXICO,
3 Plaintiff-Appellant,
4 v. NO. A-1-CA-36711
5 JACKIE PINO,
6 Defendant-Appellee.
7 APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF BERNALILLO COUNTY
8 Cindy Leos, District Judge
9 Hector H. Balderas, Attorney General
10 Santa Fe, NM
11 Maris Veidemanis, Assistant Attorney General
12 Albuquerque, NM
13 for Appellant
14 Bennett J. Baur, Chief Public Defender
15 Santa Fe, NM
16 Douglas Wilber, Assistant Public Defender
17 Albuquerque, NM
18 for Appellee
19 MEMORANDUM OPINION
20 VIGIL, Judge.
1 {1} The State appeals from the district court’s order, filed August 9, 2017,
2 sanctioning the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office (D.A.’s Office) and
3 ordering it to pay $250 for its failure to provide discovery to defense counsel. This
4 Court issued a notice of proposed disposition in which we proposed to affirm. The
5 State filed a memorandum in opposition, which we have duly considered. Remaining
6 unpersuaded, we affirm.
7 {2} In our notice of proposed disposition, we proposed to conclude that the State
8 had not demonstrated that the district court abused its discretion by imposing the
9 monetary sanction against the D.A.’s Office for its failure to provide discovery to
10 Defendant at the time that he was arraigned. [CN 5] See LR2-308(D)(1) NMRA
11 (2016, amended 2018) (“The state shall disclose or make available to the defendant
12 all information described in Rule 5-501(A)(1)-(6) NMRA at the arraignment[.] In
13 addition to the disclosures required in Rule 5-501(A) NMRA, at the same time the
14 state shall provide . . . copies of documentary evidence, and audio, video, and
15 audio-video recordings made by law enforcement officers or otherwise in possession
16 of the state[.]”). We also stated that, based on the facts in this case and the plain
17 language of LR2-308(I)(1) requiring sanctions for violations of the Rule, we were not
18 persuaded by the State’s contention that a monetary sanction against it was an
19 improper remedy under LR2-308 when an extension of deadlines for pretrial
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1 interviews and pretrial motions both prevents any potential prejudice and achieves the
2 desired result of the discovery process. [CN 5] See LR2-308(I)(1) (“If a party fails to
3 comply with any provision of this rule or the time limits imposed by a scheduling
4 order entered under this rule, the court shall impose sanctions as the court may deem
5 appropriate in the circumstances and taking into consideration the reasons for the
6 failure to comply.” (emphasis added.)).
7 {3} In its memorandum in opposition, the State maintains that the trial court abused
8 its discretion in finding that there was a discovery violation. [MIO 1-4] Additionally,
9 the State asserts that there is nothing in the record to indicate that the district court
10 considered a lesser sanction. [MIO 3-4]
11 {4} We acknowledge that the State provided discovery to defense counsel on
12 October 14, 2016, including access to a secure internet link containing lapel videos,
13 prior to indictment when the parties were attempting a pre-indictment plea. [CN 2-3;
14 RP 47, 54-55] As discussed in the notice of proposed disposition, plea negotiations
15 failed; at some point, the lapel videos were inadvertently deleted from the secure
16 website; Defendant was indicted for the crime of felony driving while under the
17 influence of intoxicating liquor; on March 27, 2017, Defendant was arraigned; and the
18 lapel videos were not provided to defense counsel at the time of arraignment. [CN 3]
19 We note that almost four months after Defendant was arraigned, on July 19, 2017, the
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1 State was able to locate a downloaded copy of the videos and disclosed them to
2 Defendant. [CN 4] Nevertheless, it is undisputed that the State failed to comply with
3 LR2-308(D)(1); pursuant to LR2-308(I)(1), the district court was required to sanction
4 the State for failing to comply with the Rule; and pursuant to LR2-308(I)(3), a
5 monetary sanction was a permissible sanction. In light of the foregoing, we conclude
6 that the State has not demonstrated that the district court erred in imposing the
7 monetary sanction in this case. See State v. Harper, 2010-NMCA-055, ¶ 11, 148 N.M.
8 286, 235 P.3d 625 (“We will not disturb a district court’s order imposing sanctions
9 absent an abuse of discretion.”), reversed on other grounds by 2011-NMSC-044, 150
10 N.M. 745, 266 P.3d 25; see Harper, 2010-NMCA-055, ¶ 11 (stating that “[a]s the
11 [a]ppellant, it is the State’s burden to establish an abuse of discretion”).
12 {5} We note that the State asserts that the record does not indicate that the district
13 court considered a lesser sanction, and the State asserts that the monetary sanction in
14 this case accomplishes neither compliance nor deterrence. [MIO 3-4] “As a reviewing
15 court, we cannot attempt to precisely delineate how trial courts are to exercise their
16 discretionary authority in the varied cases over which they must preside. . . . Similarly,
17 we cannot second-guess our courts’ determinations as to how their discretionary
18 authority is best exercised.” State v. Le Mier, 2017-NMSC-017, ¶ 17, 394 P.3d 959;
19 id. ¶ 27 (“[T]he district court was not obligated to consider every conceivable lesser
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1 sanction before imposing witness exclusion. To require this would be to significantly
2 impinge upon and curtail the court’s broad discretionary authority to fashion
3 appropriate sanctions for discovery violations. . . . Rather, the court was only required
4 to fashion the least severe sanction that best fit the situation and which accomplished
5 the desired result.” (emphasis omitted)). Based on the information before this Court,
6 we cannot find an abuse of discretion in the district court’s decision to sanction the
7 State with a $250 fine for its failure to comply with LR2-308(D). See State v. Rojo,
8 1999-NMSC-001, ¶ 41, 126 N.M. 438, 971 P.2d 829 (“An abuse of discretion occurs
9 when the ruling is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances
10 of the case. We cannot say the trial court abused its discretion by its ruling unless we
11 can characterize it as clearly untenable or not justified by reason.” (internal quotation
12 marks and citations omitted)).
13 {6} Accordingly, for the reasons stated here and in our notice of proposed summary
14 disposition, we affirm.
15 {7} IT IS SO ORDERED.
16 ______________________________________
17 MICHAEL E. VIGIL, Judge
18 WE CONCUR:
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1 ____________________________
2 J. MILES HANISEE, Judge
3 ____________________________
4 DANIEL J. GALLEGOS, Judge
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