State v. Johnson, 147 N.M. 177

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Mexico held that contracted security guards providing services to a school district qualify as "school employees" under NMSA 1978, Section 30-3-9. The court applied the ordinary meaning and legislative purpose of the statute, concluding that the statute encompasses security guards even though they were employed and paid by a private security contractor. The court reversed the dismissal of three battery charges and remanded for reinstatement.

Holdings

1. Security guards providing services for a school pursuant to a contract with the school board are included within the statutory definition of "school employee" and may be protected by the battery-on-school-personnel statute.
2. Neither the rule of lenity nor ejusdem generis excludes contracted security guards because the statute is not insurmountably ambiguous and including guards best serves the statute's text, context, and purpose.

Questions Presented

1. Whether security guards providing services to a school district under a contract with the school board are "school employees" within the meaning of NMSA 1978, Section 30-3-9.
2. Whether the rule of lenity or ejusdem generis excludes contracted security guards from the statutory term "school employee."

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded