Motion to dismiss incest charge denied

A district judge on Thursday denied a motion to dismiss incest charges against a Clovis woman.

Judge Drew Tatum issued a decision letter in the case against Monica Mares, 36, accused of an incestuous relationship with her son, 19-year-old Caleb Peterson.

In the three-paragraph ruling, Tatum said he found, “the matters presented by the defendant lack merit and do not warrant dismissal.”

Mares’ attorney, Brett Carter, had argued on state grounds that incest laws punished women disproportionately. On federal grounds, he argued that Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage and abortion create a precedent that some decisions should be free of government interference — a precedent that covers the consensual relationship between Mares and Peterson.

District Attorney Andrea Reeb countered the state statute on incest is gender-neutral and that the defendant did not have a constitutionally protected right to an incestuous relationship.

“I felt the case law was in our favor, both in New Mexico and federally,” Reeb said. “I’m happy with the ruling, and we’re prepared to go to trial.”

Carter said he expected Tatum’s ruling, but said he wanted the objections on record so they could be appealed to another court later if needed.

“Any time you have a novel argument, there’s not a lot of case law,” Carter said. “We wanted to make sure we brought it up before trial so it could be part of the appellate process.”

Mares’ case is scheduled for jury selection at 8:30 a.m. Monday; her jury trial is slated to begin 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

However, the case is on a trailing docket, meaning three older cases on the docket take priority. Both Carter and Reeb said they don’t expect the case to be tried Wednesday, but will be ready if it is.

If Mares’ trial does not go forward Wednesday, it will be moved to a fixed date — likely in January, Reeb said.