What is an arraignment? An arraignment is where the accused pleads, in ninety-nine percent of the cases, not guilty to the charged crimes. In most misdemeanor cases, we can waive the client’s appearance at that setting by filing a written waiver with the Court, which when signed by the Judge, […]

In the past year, I’ve noticed that the Department of Game and Fish has increased the volume of cases it has filed against hunters, fishers, guides and outfitters. Unfortunately, in many of these cases the accused does not retain legal counsel, instead opting to handle the matter themselves. This can […]

What is a Motion? In the simplest of terms, a motion is asking a judge to do something. It can be as simple as asking the judge to approve a Defendant’s travel out of state or as complex as having the judge order the suppression of certain evidence like a […]

A first appearance is more correctly known as a felony first appearance. It only occurs when a Defendant has been charged with a felony crime. The purpose of felony first appearance is to determine whether there is probable cause (a low burden which is basically maybe a crime occurred and […]

One of the most important aspects of any criminal case is for the defense attorney to conduct witness interviews. Pursuant to New Mexico Rules Annotated (see generally, NMRA 5-503, 6-504, 7-504, and 8-504), defense counsel is allowed to take the statement of any witness listed by the prosecution. A witness […]