Judge Increases Prosecutors' Workout
One of the fringe benefits of being a prosecutor in New Mexico is the
fitness program. No, it doesn't involve a personal trainer or a weight
room in the District Attorney's Office, just continually bench-pressing
ever heavier burdens of proof.
Bernalillo County
prosecutors apparently need some steroids, after the dismissal of DWI
charges against Brandon Wilcox.
Wilcox, a former
Albuquerque police officer, crashed his patrol car and called a female
colleague to take him home, where he was later found passed out. In the
meantime, his brother went to the scene and took the blame for wrecking
the car.
It sounded fishy to investigators, and the
cover story unraveled to the point Wilcox admitted wrecking the car and
resigned from the police force.
So far, so
good.
But what looks like a slam dunk for a DWI
conviction was blocked when Wilcox's attorney last month asked
Metropolitan Judge Cristina Jaramillo to dismiss the charges. Prosecutors
couldn't prove that his client was behind the wheel of the squad car when
it crashed, he argued.
A month later, Jaramillo
granted the motion and dismissed the charges.
"I
have nothing but a nod and a wink that he was driving," she
said.
Deputy District Attorney Warren Sigal said
prosecutors believe Wilcox's admission that he was driving was sufficient
to build probable cause. "It was a small leap in our
opinion."
Jaramillo is constrained from commenting
on the case now, because it may be appealed.
No
maybe about it. Prosecutors might not be able to carry the ever-increasing
burden of proof, but they should definitely carry an appeal over to
District Court.
