State of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Petitioner and Cross-Respondent v. Jim Sosa, Defendant-Respondent and Cross-Petitioner

Summary

The court reversed the Court of Appeals and affirmed the defendant's convictions, holding that the prosecutor's closing remark about evidence of a date-rape drug was not error when read in context. The court further held that, even assuming the remark was improper, it did not constitute fundamental error because it was brief, responsive to the defense argument, did not implicate a distinct constitutional protection, and was unlikely to have materially affected the verdict.