State v. Trujillo

OPINION

HARTZ, Chief Judge.

{1} Absent an emergency clause, a law passed by the New Mexico Legislature ordinarily does not go into effect until at least ninety days after its passage. See N.M. Const, art. IV, § 23. The obvious purpose of the delay is to provide time for those affected by the law to receive notice and make any necessary adjustments. Sometimes, however, the necessary adjustments are not accomplished within the allotted time. In the case before us, the State prosecuted an alleged incident of domestic violence in a manner that would have been appropriate a few weeks earlier; but…