NEW MEXICO
Federal
Lands News
BY FRANK DUBOIS
This month we cover the Forest Service & BLM law dogs, & the relationship between prairie dogs, the plague & peanut butter.
Smokey sent back to his den
I
magine this scenario: On a state highway a New Mexico citizen passes a Forest Service LEO. The LEO alleges he did this at a high rate of speed and without using his turn signals. The LEO turns on his emergency lights and follows the citizen at an alleged 70 mph and turns on his siren. The citizen travels for a mile and half until he finds a safe place and pulls over and parks next to a deputy sheriff. The LEO asks the citizen to turn off his engine, which he does.
The LEO asks the citizen several times for his identification, to which the citizen replies the LEO has no authority to pull him over. The LEO says unless he produces identification he will be arrested. The citizen presents his drivers license and the LEO issues him a citation. At a later date the LEO files additional charges of resisting an officer and “wreckless” [sic] driving. Finally, the U.S. attorney revises the charges to interfering with an officer and failing to stop when ordered to do so. The citizen challenges the citations and they go to court. How would the judge rule? Actually, this is not just a scenario but
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actual events that took place in January of this year on U.S. Highway 180 in Catron County, New Mexico. The citizen is Alvin Brent Laney, the LEO is Forest Service Officer Mandrick and the federal judge is U.S. Magistrate Lourdes A. Martinez. Based upon arguments and a motion filed by Laney’s attorneys, A. Blair Dunn and Dori Richards, Judge Martinez dismissed all charges. On the interference charge Martinez ruled the feds failed to show how driving another 1.5 miles and initially failing to identify himself interfered with “Officer Mandrick’s official duties ‘in the protection, improvement or administration of the National Forest System.’ ” Martinez also found the feds failed to explain how Officer Mandrick was engaged in an “official duty” when pursuing Laney on a non-Forest System road. And finally, Martinez wrote, “…the court also finds that Officer Mandrick did not have authority or jurisdiction to stop or cite Defendant on a non-Forest System road for actions that did not implicate the Forest System.” There is one little old fact I left out. Officer Mandrick asked the Deputy Sheriff on location to sign the original citation, but the Deputy declined the request. It would behoove you to check with your local Sheriff and make sure he hasn’t cross-commissioned the officers of any land management agency. On the importance of this particular case attorney Dunn said, “The significance of this case is the Court pointing out that absent a clear showing that it is a forest system road, not merely a road existing inside of the US Forest System lands, that they do not gain jurisdiction to stop any individual for anything other than a crime that affects the protection of USFS lands. Further this becomes the law of New Mexico until another case says differently”. I’ll close with an excerpt from the opinion which caused a broad smile to appear on my face: