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New Mexico Changes DWI License Revocation Process

Effort seeks to cut down on number of dismissals of NM DWI cases.

January 1, 2009 will bring changes to the license revocation hearing procedure following an arrest for New Mexico DWI. The state will begin allowing police officers to submit signed affidavits that can be used when considering the suspension of a driver’s license for drunk driving. Previously, the officer was required to attend the hearing. The absence of the officer’s testimony could lead to dismissal of the driver’s license case.

Under New Mexico DWI law, the state begins an administrative process to suspend a motorist’s driver’s license after a charge of driving while intoxicated is entered. This is separate from the criminal charges associated with the DWI arrest. The motorist has the right to petition for an Administrative License Revocation hearing and attempt to retain his or her driving privileges.

The new policy of allowing an officer to submit paperwork, rather than appear at the hearing, is aimed at getting more license suspensions. It does not affect the court process of prosecuting a NM DWI. The new license hearing procedure will begin in Bernalillo and San Juan Counties in January, and then be expanded statewide.

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Memorial to Victims of New Mexico DWI

Markers reflect number of New Mexico victims of drunk driving during five year period.

A four acre patch of land east of Albuquerque is dotted with markers memorializing victims of drunk driving in New Mexico. The Memorial of Perpetual tears was erected by Sonja Britton, whose son was killed by a drunk driver in 1991.

The memorial sits about 50 yards off of Interstate 40 in the town of Moriarity. The land currently has more than 900 powder gray steel markers. They were designed by Britton and feature a curved top that forms an eye. Tears are cut into the marker below the eye. Britton said steel was chosen because of the steel machines that felled the DWI victims.

The number of markers reflects the total number of New Mexico DWI victims for the previous five years. Each year the number of markers is adjusted to reflect the most recent statistics. The memorial has room for 1500 markers, though Britton hopes one day there will be no markers at the memorial.

Britton would like to expand the project into a national memorial for victims of drunk driving. She envisions landscaping, paths and plaques for each state with the number of DWI related fatalities for that year. An outdoor fountain is planned with a sculpture representing injured victims and their caretakers. A 2,100 square foot visitors center is being erected that will feature streaming videos with personal accounts of drunk driving incidents and DWI information.

‘DrunkBusters’ Targets New Mexico DWI Offenders

Hotline allows motorists to call police about suspected drunk driving in New Mexico.

The New Mexico Department of Public Safety has a hotline that warns police of erratic driving and suspected drunk driving. Called DrunkBusters, the program allows people to immediately contact law enforcement by using a simple cell phone code or calling a toll free number.

Calls to DrunkBusters are answered by DPS operators who gather as much information as possible about a suspect’s vehicle. The closest law enforcement agency is then notified, and the info is then relayed to officers on patrol.

Last year the hotline received over 16,000 calls, which resulted in 900 motorists being stopped and 200 charged with driving while intoxicated in New Mexico.

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New Mexico DWI Flowchart

DWI Flow in New Mexico

System 1: License Revoked Upon Arrest

System 2: Criminal Charges in NM Courts

Click here to view the DWI Flow in New Mexico

Traffic Safety Milestones in New Mexico

Traffic Safety Milestones in New Mexico:
A Short History of Traffic Safety Legislation and Public Policy in New Mexico

Carolyn Johnson, Training and Development Section Institute of Public Law, University of New Mexico School of Law MSC 11 6060, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001

1913: First State Legislature passes anti-DWI law: Penalties: Fines between $25 and $100; jail between 30 and 90 days.

1919: DWI penalties raised to $1000 and one year in jail. The legislature also made it a crime for a passenger to knowingly and willfully ride with an intoxicated driver. The passenger was subject to the same penalties as the driver – $1000 fine and a year in jail. (Note: this is the year prohibition was passed).

1929: Legislature repeals the statute making it unlawful to ride with an intoxicated driver.

1967: NHTSA issues Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, requiring auto manufacturers to install lap and shoulder belts in outboard positions (next to windows) and lap belts in all other positions. This law became effective in 1968.

1969: Implied Consent Law Passed. Contained the following presumptions: under .05 it is presumed that person is not intoxicated; .05 to .09: no presumption is made as to intoxication; .10 and over it is presumed that the person is intoxicated. These presumptions could be overcome by competent evidence as to the intoxication or sobriety of the driver. They did not apply to the criminal portion of the law, but rather to license revocation.

1971: Implied Consent Act is taken out of the courts and made an entirely administrative (noncriminal) proceeding.

1983: The per se standard of .10 is added to the criminal portion of the law (66?8-102C). Under this section of the law, a person can be convicted of DWI for driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .10 or more. New Mexico enacts child safety restraint law, which applies only to children under 5, with secondary enforcement.

1984: The per se standard of .10 is added to the Implied Consent Act, which now defines driving with a BAC over .10 as both a criminal violation and an administrative (noncriminal) violation. The administrative per se violation replaces the portion of the law which provided that at .10 BAC or over, the driver was presumed to be intoxicated. Under this new law, (66-8?110C) the driver with a .10 or higher BAC has his license administratively revoked and is charged with the crime of DWI.

1985: New Mexico’s mandatory child restraint law amended to include children under 11, with primary enforcement.

1986: New Mexico’s mandatory adult safety belt law goes into effect (passed in 1985) with primary enforcement.

1987: New Mexico Court of Appeals holds sobriety checkpoints constitutional in New Mexico (City of Las Cruces v. Betancourt) as long as certain guidelines are followed.

1988: The cars of second and third time offenders impounded for 30 and 60 days, respectively. Fourth or subsequent offenders will receive mandatory six-month jail sentences. Mandatory 96 hours in jail for driving with a license revoked for DWI. Law clarifies that DWI convictions will be recorded against offenders even if their sentence is suspended, deferred or taken under advisement.

1989: Legislature passes open container law, modifies mandatory safety belt law to apply to pickup trucks as well as passenger cars, and passes new law, the Local Liquor Excise Tax Act, which applies only to McKinley County. Pursuant to the new law, McKinley County passes local tax on alcohol of 5%, to fund drug abuse education, prevention and treatment programs.

1990: Farmington enacts ordinance providing for mandatory three days in jail for ALL DWI offenders. US Supreme Court approves sobriety checkpoints, as long as police agencies comply with outlined procedures.

1992: Albuquerque passes state’s first DWI vehicle forfeiture ordinance for driving while revoked for DWI. The penalty is entirely civil and will eventually encompass both driving while revoked and DWI.

1993: Legislature creates new crimes of felony DWI for a fourth or subsequent offense and aggravated DWI for .16+, refusal or causing bodily injury while DWI. BAC per se standard is lowered from .10 to .08. DWI Local Grant Fund is created for communities to apply for grants to fight DWI at local level; mandatory alcohol evaluation for all DWI offenders and mandatory penalties for second or subsequent offense. Most of the new laws went into effect in 1994.

1997: Legislature requires fingerprinting of all convicted DWI offenders.

1998: Service to drive-up alcohol windows is outlawed statewide by state legislature.

1999: Limited licenses for convicted offenders become available to offenders who install ignition interlocks on their cars (among other requirements) — vehicles may be driven only to work or school. Graduated driver’s license legislation passed, pertaining to youth under age 18.

2001: Law passed requiring all adults to be in a safety belt in all positions of a vehicle.

2002: Legislature requires ignition interlocks to be installed on the vehicles of all convicted repeat DWI offenders and aggravated DWI offenders. New Mexico Supreme Court holds that Albuquerque’s DWI vehicle forfeiture ordinance does not constitute double jeopardy.

2003: Ignition Interlock License Act passed, allowing DWI offenders to obtain a license to drive anywhere at any time, unless they have been convicted of vehicular homicide or great bodily injury by vehicle while DWI. Law now allows tribal convictions to be counted as prior offenses in New Mexico, and allows tribes to submit records to statewide MVD/DWI database, at tribes’ option.

Dona Ana County’s vehicle forfeiture ordinance goes into effect.

2004: Legislature raises DWI from a fourth degree felony to a third degree felony on a sixth or subsequent offense. Makes substance abuse counseling and treatment mandatory on every subsequent offense and for all persons incarcerated for DWI. Law changed to include tribal convictions as priors for purposes of sentence enhancement. Each prior DWI conviction within the last 10 years now adds four years to a prison sentence for vehicular homicide, (mandatory). This doubled the previous enhancement of two years. Law changed to make it a fourth degree felony for a person to sell, serve, give, buy, or deliver alcohol to a minor, or assist a minor to buy, procure or be served alcohol. This includes getting someone else to give alcohol to minors by deceptive practices.

Las Cruces and Torrance County vehicle forfeiture ordinances go into effect.

2005: Legislature increases period of license revocation for a conviction for DWI, as follows: 1 year revocation on a first, 2 years on a second, 3 years on a third and lifetime for a 4th — subject to a five-year review in the district court. Law now requires any convicted offender to obtain an ignition interlock license and have interlock installed and operating on all cars driven by offender, according to the same timetable as the license revocation. Law makes juveniles subject to the interlock indigency fund. Adds mandatory community service for first and third time offenders. New law requires standardization of law enforcement arrest records and procedures. Expands definition of ignition interlock device as one that “prevents the operation of a motor vehicle by and intoxicated or impaired person.â€

Updated May, 2005 Institute of Public Law, UNM School of Law Carolyn Johnson, Training and Development Section 505/277-8790 http://ipl.unm.edu/traf/

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