Summary:

 House Bill 105 (HB 105) relates to traffic offenses and permits a laboratory analyst or toxicologist to appear by interactive video in a court proceeding regarding a person’s breath or blood testing in a driving while intoxicated charge.   

Legislation Overview:

 House Bill 105 (HB 105) amends the Implied Consent Act and makes procedural changes to testimony in a driving while intoxicated court case.  
First, the bill enacts a new section of the Implied Consent Act to allow an analyst or toxicologist, who has been subpoenaed, to appear at a court proceeding via interactive video.  An interactive video appearance must allow the witness to be questioned and cross-examined in plain sight and clear hearing of the judge, jury, parties, and lawyers, and the witness must be able to clearly see and hear the proceeding. 
Second, the bill amends Section 66-8-107 NMSA 1978 by providing that a defendant in a driving while intoxicated case is deemed to have given implied consent to allow a laboratory analyst or toxicologist to testify in court via interactive video regarding the results of chemical testing.  The analyst must have performed the chemical test and the toxicologist must be from the laboratory where the test was performed, and both must be testifying as an expert.   

Current Law:

 Currently, all witnesses in a criminal trial, with some exceptions, must testify in person in court.