State of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Anthony Samora, Defendant-Appellant

Summary

The Court held that Defendant’s five-year delay before trial did not violate his speedy-trial rights because the delay was largely attributable to Defendant or neutral, he did not meaningfully assert the right, and he showed no particularized prejudice. It nevertheless reversed both convictions because the jury instructions omitted the consent element of criminal sexual penetration, and the omission constituted fundamental error that also infected the kidnapping verdict. The Court determined that sufficient evidence supported both convictions, permitting retrial, and rejected Defendant’s additional challenges to the admission of GPS and online-identification evidence and to limits on cross-examination.