Judge dismisses DWI case against APD officer after ruling checkpoint unconstitutional
A judge threw out the case against Jonathan Franco after finding Bernalillo County deputies failed to prove the DWI checkpoint met New Mexico’s constitutional requirements
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
A judge has dismissed a DWI case against an Albuquerque police officer, Jonathan Franco, after ruling the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office checkpoint where he was stopped was unconstitutional.
The ruling means prosecutors cannot move forward with the case for now. The dismissal was without prejudice, meaning the case could be refiled, or the state could also appeal the ruling.
Franco was stopped at a DWI checkpoint near Unser Boulevard and Rainbow Boulevard on May 3 and 4, 2025. He was accused of driving drunk with a child in the vehicle.
The judge said the case did not collapse because of lack of evidence. Instead, the court found the state failed to prove the checkpoint was planned and operated in a constitutional way under New Mexico law.
In New Mexico, courts weigh eight factors when deciding if a sobriety checkpoint is lawful. Two of the most important are whether supervisory law enforcement personnel — not field officers — selected the site and procedures, and if officers’ discretion was clearly restricted.
“The rules have to be followed to a T, and if the law enforcement agencies don’t follow them, it doesn’t matter if the driver admits to drinking or blows a breath test that’s over the legal limit or fails the field sobriety test,” KOAT legal expert John Day said.
The judge found the state proved some safety and visibility measures were in place, but failed to establish most of the required factors.
A major issue in the ruling involved Deputy Marquez, a sheriff’s deputy who testified about the checkpoint’s planning and operation. Prosecutors argued his role was enough to satisfy the supervisory requirement, but the judge said otherwise.
“The court disagrees with the state’s position that Deputy Marquez was a supervisory law enforcement personnel under the law,” the judge said.
The court also found the state did not clearly show officers’ discretion was tightly limited at the checkpoint.
“Somebody has to place discretion and limitations on the officers in the field,” the judge said. “Deputy Marquez was not one of those persons. He doesn’t have the authority.”
Day said that if the checkpoint itself fails the constitutional test, the rest of the case can fall with it.
“If the basic underlying part of the sobriety checkpoint is unconstitutional because they haven’t followed those rules, then all the cases get thrown out,” Day said.
After the ruling, prosecutors told the court they could not proceed and moved to dismiss the case.
Day also said the ruling could have broader implications for other defendants stopped at that same checkpoint.
“Anyone else who was charged at that point can certainly challenge their convictions if they were at that checkpoint,” Day said.
