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1 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO
2 STATE OF NEW MEXICO,
3 Plaintiff-Appellee,
4 v. No. 33,748
5 CARLA CHACON,
6 Defendant-Appellant.
7 APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF BERNALILLO COUNTY
8 Jacqueline D. Flores, District Judge
9 Gary K. King, Attorney General
10 Santa Fe, NM
11 for Appellee
12 Jorge A. Alvarado, Chief Public Defender
13 Santa Fe, NM
14 Josephine H. Ford, Assistant Appellate Defender
15 Albuquerque, NM
16 for Appellant
17 MEMORANDUM OPINION
18 FRY, Judge.
19 {1} Defendant appeals from the district court’s judgment in an on-record appeal,
20 affirming the metropolitan court’s sentencing order that convicted Defendant for DWI,
1 improper left turn, and failure to maintain traffic lane. Unpersuaded by Defendant’s
2 docketing statement, we entered a notice of proposed summary disposition, proposing
3 to affirm. Defendant has filed a memorandum in opposition to our notice. We remain
4 unpersuaded and affirm.
5 {2} On appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support her
6 conviction for DWI, under the “impaired to the slightest degree” standard. [DS 10;
7 MIO 8-11] Specifically, Defendant argues that her driving did not indicate
8 impairment, nor did her conduct throughout the stop, and nor did her performance on
9 the field sobriety tests (FSTs). [DS 8-9; MIO 7-8] Also, Defendant points out that her
10 BAC was .06/.05. [DS 8; MIO 7]
11 {3} Our notice stated our view that the district court entered a thorough and
12 accurate memorandum opinion, addressing all the same matters raised in the current
13 appeal. Because Defendant did not seem to dispute the district court’s recitation of the
14 operative facts, our notice proposed to adopt that section of the district court’s
15 opinion. [RP 95-97] In response to our notice, Defendant provides us with another
16 detailed recitation of the facts, [MIO 1-8] identical to the facts in the docketing
17 statement, [DS 1-9] and again does not indicate whether she disputes any facts as set
18 forth by the district court. We continue to see no material distinction between the facts
2
1 as set forth in the district court’s opinion [RP 95-97] and those set forth in
2 Defendant’s response. [MIO 1-8]
3 {4} Our notice also stated our view that the district court accurately set forth the
4 State’s burden of proof, the standard of review, and guiding principles regarding our
5 deference to the fact-finder’s role in weighing the evidence and resolving matters of
6 credibility. [RP 97-99] Our notice added only our proposed reliance on two cases to
7 further demonstrate why we believed the evidence against Defendant was sufficient.
8 We explained to Defendant that if she wanted this Court to arrive at a different
9 conclusion, in any response she may have wished to file, she needed to persuade us
10 that the district court’s analysis of the facts was incorrect.
11 {5} Defendant’s memorandum in opposition to our notice acknowledges that New
12 Mexico case law does not support her position, but she continues to challenge the
13 sufficiency of the evidence. [MIO 9] Defendant’s response focuses on our reliance on
14 Defendant’s performance on the field sobriety tests (FSTs) in our analysis of whether
15 sufficient evidence supports her DWI conviction. [MIO 9-11] Defendant argues that
16 FST results do not accurately or reliably measure impairment by alcohol. [Id.]
17 {6} We note that the district court’s opinion also addressed this concern, and did so
18 appropriately. [RP 98-99] Evidence of Defendant’s unsatisfactory performance on the
19 FSTs was presented to illustrate her difficulty following directions, maintaining
3
1 balance, and perform other simple tasks. [RP 96, 98] Our case law considers an
2 officer’s observations of such manifestations as commonly understood features of
3 intoxication that are probative of impairment. See, e.g, State v. Neal, 2008-NMCA-
4 008, ¶ 29, 143 N.M. 341, 176 P.3d 330 (observing that the subject’s unsatisfactory
5 performance on field sobriety testing, including his failure to follow instructions and
6 lack of balance, constituted signs of intoxication which supported his conviction for
7 driving under the influence of alcohol); State v. Torres, 1999-NMSC-010, ¶ 31, 127
8 N.M. 20, 976 P.2d 20 (recognizing that most FSTs are self-explanatory and address
9 commonly understood signs of intoxication). Also, other evidence as discussed in the
10 district court’s opinion—Defendant’s erratic driving, odor of alcohol, bloodshot,
11 watery eyes, slurred speech, and breath alcohol results of .06 and .05, showing the
12 presence of alcohol [RP 95-98]—provided the fact finder with additional evidence
13 upon which to convict her for DWI. See generally State v. Baldwin, 2001-NMCA-063,
14 ¶ 16, 130 N.M. 705, 30 P.3d 394 (stating that fact finders may draw on their life
15 experiences and understanding of human behavior during a state of intoxication to
16 draw reasonable inferences).
17 {7} For the reasons stated in this opinion and in our notice, we hold that sufficient
18 evidence of DWI was presented. Accordingly, we affirm the metropolitan court’s
19 sentencing order.
4
1 {8} IT IS SO ORDERED.
2
3
4 CYNTHIA A. FRY, Judge
5 WE CONCUR:
6
7 JONATHAN B. SUTIN, Judge
8
9 M. MONICA ZAMORA, Judge
5