DUINew Mexico DWI Penalties-fines
Lawmakers Approve Monitoring Device for Some NM DWI Cases
House votes to allow for alcohol monitoring bracelets after some drunk driving offenses.
Last year, lawmakers passed legislation making it mandatory for every one convicted of driving while intoxicated in New Mexico to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicle. Now legislators want to add another tool in the pursuit of prevention of drunk driving in NM. The House approved a measure that permits judges to require certain drivers convicted of drunk driving to wear an electronic monitoring device that detects alcohol.
The ignition interlock device is aimed at preventing drivers from operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. The sponsor of the new law says the objective of the special ankle bracelet is sobriety. He said that many rural areas do not have alcohol rehabilitation facilities and the alcohol monitoring bracelet will help alcoholics and repeat drunk driving offenders remain sober.
The bracelets detect alcohol in the person's perspiration and through the air. The device periodically relays information to a company that tracks the devices. The data is forwarded to an appropriate probation office or government agency. The penalties for alcohol consumption have not been clarified.
The alcohol monitoring devices can cost around $15 per day, and there are installation fees. For those unable to pay for the bracelet, a judge is able to tap into a state indigent fund, which is also available for ignition interlock devices.
The New Mexico State House unanimously approved the proposed legislation, and the measure has been sent to the Senate for debate.
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State Senate Adds to Interlock Requirement for NM DWI
Those with a suspended license for drunk driving required to have the device for 6 months.
The New Mexico State Senate voted unanimously to pass legislation that requires drivers with revoked or suspended driver’s licenses for driving while intoxicated to install an ignition interlock devices in their vehicles. The devices, which measures a driver’s blood alcohol content before permitting the vehicle to be started, would be required for six months prior to re-instatement of licenses.
The bill’s sponsor says it closes another NM DWI loophole and makes the roads safer by requiring drivers to be sober for six months before gaining return of their licenses. He claims that currently motorists convicted of drunk driving in New Mexico are avoiding the state’s mandatory ignition interlock requirement by stating that they do not own a vehicle or won’t be driving.
Senate Bill, numbered SB275, now goes to the House for consideration.
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Albuquerque Not Seizing Cars of First Time DWI Offenders
Court allowed controversial auto seizure program to proceed but it has not been implemented.
Recently the New Mexico Supreme Court denied a legal challenge to a program that calls for Albuquerque police to seize the vehicles of those accused of first offense DWI. That cleared the way for implementation of the controversial law though APD has yet to seize a vehicle from a first offender.
The delay comes from concern about storage space and manpower necessary to manage the program. The police say that it is highly unlikely that a vehicle will be seized if someone is arrested for first offense driving while intoxicated in New Mexico. They will be looking for additional factors, such as an accident with injury, before confiscating a vehicle.
The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the Albuquerque law stating that everyone has the constitutional right not to have property taken until one has been convicted of a crime. The Albuquerque police program called for property to be seized immediately, before the accused had the right to a fair hearing or trial. That, according to the ACLU, violates basic law. The New Mexico Supreme Court denied the challenge to the program because it was too broad and the Albuquerque seizure law had not yet been enforced. The court said that a challenge should come from an individual whose rights had been violated by a vehicle seizure.
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State Supreme Court Rules on Car Seizures in New Mexico DWI Cases
Albuquerque could start seizing cars from motorists not convicted of a crime.
The state Supreme Court refused to hear a legal challenge to a program designed to seize vehicles from motorists arrested for driving while intoxicated in New Mexico. That allowed a trial court ruling to stand, thus ending the legal challenges to a controversial plan.
In 2005 the Albuquerque City Council said wanted to raise $300,000 in annual revenue by seizing vehicles in DWI cases, even before the driver was convicted of a crime. The ACLU filed suit saying that it is not illegal to drink and drive, as long as the motorist’s blood alcohol content remained below the limit for intoxication, and that the Albuquerque ordinance imposed punishment before a driver was found guilty in a court of law. That, they said, could potentially impact all motorists who drink but are not legally intoxicated.
A lower court agreed that the Albuquerque program violated constitutional due process, but said the ACLU suit was too vague and it would not overturn the ordinance simply on the possibility of abuse. The unanimous ruling by the high court echoed that sentiment, saying that, while the issues raised in the ACLU suit are serious and have constitutional ramifications, the question of due process is best addressed by a specific act of enforcement of the ordinance. It said if “the city does, in fact, seize and forfeit a vehicle based solely on probable cause for the arrest, regardless of whether the owner is ever convicted of (New Mexico) DWI, then the vehicle owner will have the concrete injury, the motive … and the opportunity to mount an effective challenge to the ordinance.”
The city of Albuquerque is clear to begin its vehicle seizure program at any time.
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New Mexico DWI Laws Do Not Increase Conviction Rate
Despite new and tougher laws, the number of drunk driving convictions stays the same.
One year ago Governor Bill Richardson signed six pieces of legislation aimed at reducing drunk driving in New Mexico by increasing the consequences of driving while intoxicated in New Mexico. Despite the new laws, the conviction rate for New Mexico DWI has remained the same.
According to the most recent records, 73% of all Albuquerque drunk driving cases handled in Metro Court resulted in a conviction. That is exactly the same percentage as in April 2007, before passage of the laws. In fact, the conviction rate for DWI in New Mexico has remained about 73% for the past ten years.
Anti-drunk driving advocates feel that there should be more pressure for change in the court system. They cite cities with larger caseloads getting higher percentages of DWI convictions.
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