| This interactive program is designed
to assist municipal judges in determining the sentencing
choices available for DWI convictions under municipal
ordinances. The
judge enters the circumstances applicable to a particular
case and the program provides the minimum and maximum
sentencing requirements and options.
Because municipal ordinances may
vary, the program is based on the mandatory DWI sentencing
provisions of state law and the maximum sentencing authority
of municipal courts.
Municipal ordinances cannot be less strict than
state law, so the program's minimum sentencing requirements
are based on state law.
Municipal courts cannot sentence to the full extent
provided by state law, so the program's maximum sentencing
range is based on the limits of municipal court authority,
not the limits of state law.
The program uses 179 days of jail time and a $999
fine as the maximum allowable sentence for a municipal
DWI conviction.
While NMSA 1978, Section 3-17-1 authorizes municipalities
to adopt an ordinance punishing DWI by 364 days of imprisonment
and $1000 fine, in practice municipal courts use 179 days
of imprisonment and a $999 fine as their maximum authority
to avoid invoking the right to a jury trial and possibly
conflicting with magistrate jurisdiction.
The program is not a substitute for
a determination of guilt or for independent judicial decision
making. Instead, after a defendant has been found guilty of a DWI offense, it is an aid for quickly calculating the sentencing ranges applicable to an individual case. As always, the judge must determine the appropriate sentence for the defendant within the allowable range for each case..
The program first asks questions about the nature and level of the DWI offense, then provides the jail term, fines and fees that either must (mandatory) or may be (discretionary) imposed on the defendant. The sentencing choices are displayed in two categories: (1) mandatory penalties for the offense; and (2) discretionary, additional penalties that the judge may impose. These choices are based on New Mexico statutory law, current through the 2006 legislative session.
The basic DWI offenses are:
- driving while under the influence of alcohol, §66-8-102(A), or drugs to a degree that renders one incapable to safely drive, §66-8-102(B), regardless of the specific alcohol or drug content (also known as “impaired to the slightest degree,” “simple impairment,” or “simple” DWI). These types of cases may be where the defendant submitted to breath and/or blood testing but the results were not allowed into evidence for whatever reason OR where the test results were below .08 for a driver of a non-commercial vehicle or below .04 for a driver of a commercial vehicle, but were still introduced perhaps as evidence of alcohol consumption; or
- driving with a specific statutorily prohibited level of alcohol, regardless of the demonstrable effect (also known as “per se” DWI). §§66-8-102(C)(1) (a person with .08 or more alcohol content), 66-8-102(C)(2) (a driver of a commercial motor vehicle with .04 or more alcohol content).
The basic Aggravated DWI offenses are:
- driving with an alcohol content of .16 or greater. §66-8-102(D)(1); or
- driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, regardless of the amount, and causing bodily injury to a human being as a result. §66-8-102(D)(2); or
- being under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs and refusing to submit to breath and/or blood testing as provided for in the Implied Consent Act. §66-8-102(D)(3).
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