City of Roswell v. Smith

Certiorari Denied, No. 29,742, April 24, 2006 OPINION ¶1 Defendant Henry M. Smith appeals his conviction of one count of obstructing an officer in violation of Roswell, N.M., Code § 10-48 (1984). Defendant argues that his conviction should be reversed because there was insufficient evidence that his conduct met the definition of obstructing and because police officers violated his Fourth Amendment rights in arresting him on private property in the absence of the commission of a crime. In addition, we address whether Defendant's conviction should be reversed for lack of jurisdiction because the city attorney who prosecuted him in district court did not have authorization from the district attorney. We conclude that the evidence was sufficient to convict Defendant of obstructing and that his Fourth Amendment rights were not violated. We further conclude that city attorneys have authority to prosecute cases in district court for violations of municipal ordinances without district attorney authorization. Defendant's conviction is affirmed. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY