State v. Davis

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF BERNALILLO COUNTY Frank H. Allen Jr., District Judge {1} The State charged Defendant Harold Davis with the petty misdemeanor of committing ""neglect of a resident that results in no harm to the resident"" in violation of Section 30-47-5(A) of the Resident Abuse and Neglect Act, NMSA 1978, 30-47-1 to -10 (1990, as amended through 1997) (Act). The complaint filed in the Metropolitan Court of Bernalillo County stated, among other details, that Defendant was the guardian of an eighty-year-old man who was living in an apartment located at Defendant's mother's house. {2} The metropolitan court found that Defendant was not the resident's legal custodian or guardian and dismissed the charge based on its Conclusion that the Act does not impose a legal obligation upon ""people who voluntarily provide aid and care to family, friends, renters, or neighbors."" Upon the State's appeal, the district court, after trial, found Defendant guilty. Defendant appeals from the district court's final order on metropolitan court appeal. He argues that the district court appeal violated his constitutional protection from double jeopardy, and that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict. We affirm.