ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) The state's highest court says a successful completion of a deferred sentence allows a person convicted of a felony to own guns. The Albuquerque Journal reports the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Thursday that after a defendant completes a deferred sentence for a felony, the person's rights are automatically restored without a pardon or certificate from the governor.
That decision comes after a Milan, New Mexico, man was charged in a 24-count federal indictment in connection with owning more than 30 firearms. He had previous pleaded no contest in 1992 for felony of tampering with evidence in an unrelated case and giving a deferred sentence.
The opinion by Justice Richard Bosson for a unanimous court said the state Legislature set up deferred sentences as a way to offer clemency.
