Legal Question in Criminal Law in New Mexico

Miscellaneous info: I am over 18, am in the state of New Mexico, and have nothing on my record.

A few members (including myself) belonging to an established university club went around the campus grounds to chalk meeting times and location for the purpose of inviting people to join. The messages were written on the ground (which is allowed, and is widely used by other groups). However, we found a wall that acts as a divider between a walk way, and decided to chalk a message on it as well. We were in the process of writing when the campus police came by and cited us. The police for this particular campus are notorious for making a big deal out of small issues because they usually have nothing else to do. We tried to explain that we didn't know it was not allowed, and even offered to wash the chalk off the wall, but they said they had to write us up anyway. The paper they gave us listed a time we are to appear in court, but no specified fine. The charge was unauthorized graffiti.

My question is, what is the best way to plead, and if we plead guilty, what is the judge most likely to rule as far as any penalties go? Will we be okay since (1) the writing instrument was washable chalk, (2) the message was not a random scribbling but rather a message from an established campus group, and (3) we didn't know that wall was off limits. However, I am unsure this will actually help us, and I am nervous about the court appearance. I also do not know which is better to plead, and if I decided to plead "guilty", would I have a chance to explain the circumstances to the judge to possibly get a lighter (if any) sentence?


Asked on 11/23/10, 12:16 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Charles Aspinwall Charles S. Aspinwall, J.D., LLC

This is not a serious crime, but it is a crime. You may plead "nolo contendre (no contest) which will avoid a guilty plea. Pleading not guilty is not a good idea since you have already confessed. You may ask for a 6 month's deferment which is basically an unsupervised probation. If you have no criminal charges within that time period the case will be dismissed, if the judge grants it. Unless you have a nasty prior criminal history, jail time is not in your future. Court costs are always imposed, and a fine may be as well, in the judge's discretion.

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Answered on 11/28/10, 9:11 am


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