Important information on New Mexico DWI 

Contact Form
Name:
Age: Over 21
Under 21
Email:
Phone Number(s):
Best Time to Call:
Date of Arrest:
City/County of Arrest:
Did you taks a breath test? No Yes Refused
If so, what was the result?
Did you taks a blood test? No Yes Refused
If so, what was the result?
Do you have any prior DWI arrests? No Yes
If yes, how many?
Do you have any prior DWI convictions? No Yes
If yes, how many?
Please describe your situation.  
Comments and Other Questions

Phone Toll Free:

1-866 DWI-PRO-1 

(1-866-394-7761)

In Albuquerque call:

877-8787

Welcome to New Mexico DWI Law .Info

This informational website is intended to provide useful information to citizens accused of Driving While Intoxicated in New Mexico.

Warning! If you have been charged with refusal to submit to a breath or bloodtest, or if you provided a breath sample with a B.A.C. of .08 or higher if over 21 years of age, or .02 or higher if under 21 years of age, your driver's license or privilege to drive will be revoked twenty (20) days after your arrest, unless you make a written request for a hearing within ten (10) days of your arrest.

DWI Penalties

Penalties for DWI will vary depending on the facts of your case, the jurisdiction or court that you are charged in, and whether this is a first offense, second offense or other subsequent offense. It is important to note that any aggravated DWI, even a first offense aggravated, has mandatory jail time

Good legal counsel can have a great impact on the penalties as well, consider talking to an attorney soon.

First Offense
Second Offense
Third Offense
Fourth Offense
Fifth Offense
Sixth Offense
Seventh or Subsequent Offense

 

8.28.06 The New Mexico Court of Appeals holds that the Breathcard in the case was properly suppressed, where the testing officer was not qualified to testify regarding the certification of the Intoxilizer 5000. State v. Lizzol (PDF Reader Required)

7.12.06 The New Mexico Court of Appeals opinion in State vs. John  Day III   holds that under New Mexico law, expert testimony is required to establish a per se (.08) violation of the DWI statute when, as in this case, a breath reading is near the legal limit and more than one hour passed from the time of driving to the breath test. read more (PDF reader required)

3.7.07 "Hospital Policy Questioned"

After he died Nov. 12, Dana Papst's autopsy revealed his blood alcohol content was more than three times the presumed level of intoxication.
But if he had lived, it might have been impossible to prosecute because the hospital initially refused to take a blood sample, a district attorney says.
Unlike other hospitals across the region, the University of New Mexico, Presbyterian and Lovelace hospitals do not take blood samples for police to use in criminal cases. And that can jeopardize cases, particularly those involving alcohol, say prosecutors and law enforcement officials. MORE

3.7.07 "Senate Approves Anti-DWI Measures"

Repeat drunken drivers would face longer prison sentences under legislation approved Tuesday by the Senate.
A measure also passed the Senate to overturn a court decision that prosecutors say has made it more difficult to obtain convictions in drunken driving cases. MORE

2.23.07 "Reporting Drunk Drivers Gets Easier"

You're doing 70 on the interstate, you spot a driver you suspect is drunk and you're supposed to get to your cell phone and dial 1-877-DWI-HALT? It's not a number that's easy to remember or quick to dial, so the state announced Thursday that it has started a new, streamlined way to snitch on suspected drunken drivers from most cell phones: Dial #DWI. MORE

12.13.06 "12 Ways Offered to  Cut Dismissals"

Two years ago, officials including Gov. Bill Richardson and state Supreme Court Justice Richard Bosson convened a summit aimed at reducing the "embarrassing" 33 percent dismissal rate for DWI cases at Metropolitan Court. Everyone agreed that an unbiased study was needed. On Tuesday, Richard Van Duizend, project consultant for the National Center for State Courts, presented his findings. MORE

12.13.06 "Rules Aim To Reduce Dismissals  of DWIs"

Far fewer DWI cases would be dismissed because a witness doesn't show up for pretrial interviews, under sweeping rule changes proposed for Metropolitan Court. The proposed change is yet another attempt to slash the high number of drunken-driving cases dismissed each year. MORE

12.13.06 "Papers to Publish DWI Offender Photos"

Starting Saturday, photographs of convicted drunken drivers will be published in Albuquerque's two daily newspapers. In addition to their photos, DWI offenders— or those who plead no contest to the charge— will have their names, ages and blood-alcohol content published in the Tribune and in the city distribution zone of the Journal. MORE

12.13.06 "Governor OKs 2.6 M for DWI FIght"

Markers that flash red when a driver goes the wrong way on interstate ramps. Beefed up police patrols and checkpoints. Interstate signs every 15 miles with the hot line number to report suspected drunken drivers.
Those were among new anti-DWI initiatives announced Tuesday by Gov. Bill Richardson. Altogether, he approved $2.6 million in new spending to increase enforcement and other measures aimed at deterring drunken driving. MORE

11.22.06 "Not All Offenders Get Interlocks; Enforcement Of DWI Law Uneven"

In the 16 months since New Mexico passed a law requiring first-time drunken drivers to install alcohol-detecting devices in their vehicles, there has been a wide gap between the number of convictions and the number of devices actually installed. MORE

10.30.06 "Breathalyzer Not Only Option"

New Mexico Court of Appeals Judge Ira Robinson chides prosecutors for not trying hard enough to get convictions  in DWI cases. Judge Robinson: "I see prosecutors essentially relying too much on the breathalyzer ." MORE

10.21.06 "DWI cases dispute accuracy of  devices for breath analysis"

The New Mexico Supreme Court has agreed to review two DWI cases recently decided by the  New Mexico Court of Appeals. Both cases have far-reaching implications in DWI cases in New Mexico ... MORE

10.19.06: "Report: 36 Percent of DWI cases dismissed"

The DWI Resource Center has published its annual review of  DWI  cases; it shows a 36% dismissal rate in Metro Court in Albuquerque... MORE

8.14.06 "DWI Case Rule Hasn't Worked"

At the start of the year, officials hailed a rule change governing pretrial interviews in Metropolitan Court as a chance to slash the court's nagging dismissal problem in drunken-driving cases.
So far, there's no evidence it's working. MORE