State v. Vargas

Summary

The New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals’ reversal of Vargas’s aggravated DWI conviction, holding that Birchfield’s rule barring criminal penalties for refusing a warrantless blood test applies retroactively and that the appellate court may consider an unpreserved Fourth Amendment issue. The Court also held that Vargas’s refusal to submit to a blood test was an unconstitutional search because the officer lacked the statutory probable‑cause requirements. Consequently, the case was remanded for resentencing on the lesser DWI charge.