05/02/2014
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The state Supreme Court has ruled that convicted felons in New Mexico can hold public office if they received a deferred sentence and charges are dismissed.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The state Supreme Court has ruled that convicted felons in New Mexico can hold public office if they received a deferred sentence and charges are dismissed.
The court issued the decision Thursday in answering a state law question from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver in a New Mexico man's appeal over a federal charge of being a felon in possession of firearms.
Judges can defer sentencing until an offender completes a period of probation, and charges are dismissed if the individual complies with the probation conditions. The conviction remains in court records, but the justices said a person's civil rights are restored, including the ability to hold public office.
The court said the Legislature "established the deferred sentence as a means of judicial clemency."
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