Preview:

1 STATE V. CELUSNIAK, 2004-NMCA-070, 135 N.M. 728, 93 P. 3d 10 STATE OF NEW MEXICO, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. LINDA CELUSNIAK, Defendant-Appellant.
Docket No. 23,973 COURT OF APPEALS OF NEW MEXICO 2004-NMCA-070, 135 N.M. 728, 93 P.3d 10 April 15, 2004, Filed APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF OTERO COUNTY, Frank K. Wilson, District Judge. COUNSEL Patricia A. Madrid, Attorney General, Katherine Zinn, Assistant Attorney General, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellee. Adam D. Rafkin, Adam D. Rafkin, P.C., Ruidoso, NM, for Appellant. JUDGES LYNN PICKARD, Judge. WE CONCUR: CELIA FOY CASTILLO, Judge, IRA ROBINSON, Judge. AUTHOR: LYNN PICKARD. OPINION

PICKARD, Judge. {1} Defendant entered a conditional plea in magistrate court, reserving the right to appeal her motion to suppress. This case is before us on appeal following the district court's decision to deny the motion. The procedural posture of the case gives us the opportunity to clarify the approach for litigating reserved issues when a conditional plea is entered in the magistrate court. The merits of Defendant's challenge of the district court's denial of her motion to suppress give us the opportunity to explore issues of abandonment and consent when a passenger leaves a purse in a car that is searched upon the driver's consent. We reverse. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY {2} The female Defendant was a passenger in a car that contained two male passengers and a female driver. A state police officer pulled the car over when he observed that the driver was not wearing a seat belt. While speaking to the driver, the officer noticed the strong odor of burnt marijuana. He asked the driver to exit the vehicle and inquired about the odor that he had noticed. The driver did not admit to marijuana use, and she told the officer something to the effect of, "If there is marijuana in the vehicle, please do find it." {3} The officer began his search of the vehicle in the driver's area. He asked the two male

Download 2004-NMCA-070.pdf

New Mexico Law