Legislator guilty of DWI
Youngblood had identified herself as lawmaker during sobriety test at checkpoint
Ajudge on Tuesday convicted state Rep. Monica Youngblood of aggravated drunken driving, a verdict that comes as a blow to the tough-on-crime Republican lawmaker’s reelection campaign.
Police arrested Youngblood late one night in May at a DWI checkpoint in the lawmaker’s own district after an officer smelled alcohol on her.
Youngblood declined a breath-alcohol test, an officer said she performed poorly on field sobriety exams and the episode gained wide attention when video emerged of her pleading with police based on her record in the Legislature of supporting law enforcement. Youngblood also mentioned that she was a legislator when a police officer asked about her education level.
Youngblood, 42, maintained her innocence in a legal battle that culminated in a nearly four-hour bench trial.
In the end, Judge Kevin Fitzwater was unmoved by her defense and found her guilty.
Youngblood will be sentenced Oct. 3. She faces at least 48 hours in jail and potentially hundreds of dollars in fines.
Youngblood gave no indication Tuesday she would resign from office, and her attorney, Paul Kennedy, said her re-election bid is “full steam ahead.”
But Youngblood’s conviction casts uncertainty over her campaign for a fourth term in the House of Representatives as Republicans try to hold ground in legislative districts in Albuquerque. Democrats expect a strong showing and hope to widen their 38-32 majority in the chamber.
Though Youngblood’s crime was a petty misdemeanor, the trial brought out heavy legal firepower.
Kennedy is a former justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court and a close ally of outgoing Gov. Susana Martinez.
Aided by lawyer and former Republican legislator Justine Fox-Young, he launched broadsides at law enforcement’s case against Youngblood. He argued the DWI checkpoint where Youngblood was stopped was unconstitutional.
Fitzwater shot down that argument. But Kennedy went on to argue that no one had noticed Youngblood driving poorly and that video of the arrest showed Youngblood “did just fine” in sobriety tests.
“This case is riddled with reasonable doubt,” Kennedy told the judge.
Kennedy twice asked before Tuesday that Youngblood receive a jury trial. The judge denied both requests. Most petty misdemeanor DWI cases in Metropolitan Court do not involve a jury.
Officer Joshua Montaño, who booked Youngblood, testified that this was an open-and-shut DWI arrest following what he described as plenty of sobriety exams and opportunities for breath testing.
Youngblood did not follow instructions for some standard sobriety tests, such as reciting the alphabet and counting, he said. And she seemed to struggle when instructed to walk a straight line as part of another sobriety test.
Fitzwater said he saw much of what the officer had pointed out as red flags when the courtroom watched parts of an approximately 45-minute video of Youngblood’s stop at the DWI checkpoint.
“The field sobriety tests, her demeanor overall, her refusal to take the breath test, the officer’s testimony that he smelled the odor of alcohol — all of that tells the court that she was impaired,” Fitzwater said in issuing his verdict from the bench.
Youngblood told reporters after the hearing there is “not a day that I don’t wake up and regret the situation that occurred that evening.”
“I want to continue to apologize to my constituents for that evening and will accept the consequences as they come throughout this process,” she said before Kennedy ushered her away.
It’s unclear how the verdict will affect Youngblood’s bid for re-election on Nov. 6.
Elected in 2012 to represent part of Albuquerque’s west side, Youngblood has been an ally of Martinez and gained a reputation for supporting tougher sentencing laws as well as reinstatement of the death penalty.
While her district leans Republican, Youngblood has not faced an opponent in the general election since she was first voted into office with about 55 percent of the vote.
And Hillary Clinton received more votes than Donald Trump in Youngblood’s district two years ago.
Plus, slightly more voters there are registered as Democrats than as Republicans.
Still, Youngblood’s opponent, Democrat Karen Bash, has raised relatively little money while the incumbent had a comfortable war chest of about $55,000 as of Sept. 10.
Bash issued a statement Tuesday that she said would be her only comment on the verdict, knocking Youngblood for driving drunk and what she described as the legislator’s efforts to use a political position to try and get out of the situation.
“New Mexicans deserve more than tough talk on DWI — they deserve representatives who lead by example,” she said.