LAS CRUCES, NM (KTSM) – On Friday, the New Mexico Supreme Court came to Las Cruces to hear arguments on a criminal case for the first time in recent history.
The arguments heard were on a case of three people charged with stealing cattle from a rancher in Otero County.
The visit marked one of only a few times the New Mexico Supreme Court heard arguments outside of Santa Fe and in the audience were students from New Mexico State University and Organ Mountain High School.
“I’ve been to the courthouse before, but I’ve never actually seen a live case until now, so I was very very excited to come,” said B’elanna Scott of a Senior Organ Mountain High School
Students were invited as a part of a New Mexico Supreme Court Program to educate the younger generation about the judicial system.
“This experience was just amazing it really made me think about what I want to do in the future,” said Abigail Hernandez a senior at Organ Mountain High School.
One of the Supreme Court Justices hearing the argument was Justice Briana Zamora who says she studied at NMSU, speaking with the students afterwards.
“Now they know a lot more what a preceding court is like the different types of lawyers what our legal systems are about and they understand that we’re real people and were able to speak with us,” said Zamora.
Zamora hoping the program will continue, taking the New Mexico Supreme Court to different cities in the state.
“We were so glad to come and it’s really a neat opportunity to be able to hold court somewhere other than the supreme court,” said Zamora.
As for the case, it brought up the question of whether or not each stolen cow should be looked at as a separate crime.
Following the arguments and deliberation, the Supreme Court Justices came back out to let the students know what their decision was.
“We’ve arrived at a decision unanimously, our decision is as follows. We affirm the district court and the court of appeals on the basis that the unit of prosecution is one charge per livestock rustling episode,” said Justice Vigil.
Vigil explains that once the opinion is filed the case will go back to the trial court for further proceedings.
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