Preface

1. DWI Offenses and Elements

2. Initial Stop, Field Sobriety Testing, and Arrest

3. Implied Consent and Breath and Blood Testing

4. Sentencing

5. Other Alcohol-Related Offenses

Appendices

Acknowledgements

The New Mexico DWI Benchbook was authored by the staff at the New Mexico Judicial Education Center and by Judith Olean, formerly a Rio Rancho Municipal Court judge and current Chair of the Judicial Studies Program at the Central New Mexico Community College, formerly known as Albuquerque TVI. 

The Judicial Education Center gratefully acknowledges the generous assistance provided by the expert volunteers who helped in developing the initial New Mexico DWI Benchbook.  Those volunteers contributed their expertise and time in providing background material and reviewing and editing drafts.  This benchbook was developed under a generous grant from the Traffic Safety Bureau of the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department.  

Purpose

The New Mexico DWI Benchbook is intended to serve as a comprehensive resource guide for trial courts in handling criminal proceedings involving DWI and other alcohol-related offenses.  It covers driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and driving with an alcohol level of .08 or higher (.04 for commercial vehicles), as well as the additional elements that raise the offense to an aggravated level.  These are collectively referred to as “DWI” cases.

The benchbook is a current and convenient secondary source of law, policy and practice for DWI cases.  Do not rely on the benchbook as legal authority.  Instead, consult the New Mexico statutes, rules, forms and uniform jury instructions, as well as case law and court policies and procedures, for specific requirements. 

Style and Format

The New Mexico DWI Benchbook is written in a descriptive style.  Abbreviations are kept to a minimum and should be readily recognizable when encountered.  Likewise, citations to statutes, rules and cases use the most concise style possible while still providing adequate reference information.  In general, citations in the text use the following style:

• Laws:  New Mexico statutes are cited as §__-__-__, such as §66-8-113, without “NMSA 1978.”  Uniform traffic ordinances are cited as UTO __-__-__, such as UTO 12-6-12.1.  Federal laws are cited as __ U.S.C. §___, such as 25 U.S.C. §1901.

• Rules:  New Mexico judicial rules are cited as Rule __-___, such as Rule 9-501, without the addition of “NMRA.” 

• Cases:  New Mexico cases are cited using the vendor-neutral citation form adopted in 1998, such as 1998-NMCA-039, where available, or the New Mexico Reports or Pacific Reporter citation, such as 116 N.M. 456 (1993) or 863 P.2d 1077 (1993).

Effective Date

The information in this benchbook is current through September 15, 2006.  The benchbook will be updated periodically as funds and staffing allow.  Please contact the Judicial Education Center at the address below for information about the status and availability of updates.

Additional Copies

For information on obtaining additional copies of this benchbook, please contact the Judicial Education Center.  The benchbook is available free of charge on the Judicial Education Center web site, http://jec.unm.edu/.

Permission to Reproduce

For information on the permission and acknowledgements necessary for reproducing portions of this benchbook, please contact the Judicial Education Center.

Contacts

For further information on the benchbook, or to report errors or suggestions for future updates, please contact:

Richard Bustamante, Senior Attorney (direct phone 505-277-9982; email rbusta@unm.edu)

Judicial Education Center
Institute of Public Law
MSC11 6060
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
Phone:  505-277-5006
Fax:  505-277-7064