Max Pines Law

09/22/2026

Checking in from the Cibola County Detention Center outside Grants, New Mexico.

One thing about being a criminal defense attorney is that the job takes you to a lot of different places.

Sometimes it’s a beautiful courthouse. Sometimes it’s a conference room going through evidence. Sometimes it’s standing at the scene of an alleged crime trying to understand what actually happened. And sometimes it’s walking into a jail to sit across from a client who is going through one of the hardest moments of his or her life.

Good defense work doesn’t just happen in a courtroom.

It means going where the case takes you, asking questions, investigating, listening to your client, and doing the work necessary to understand the whole picture.

It means you are going to see some of the forgotten corners in our communities and wrestle with hard questions.

I love standing by my clients during their toughest battles and keeping my eyes and mind open while I accompany them on the path to justice.

09/14/2026

Found out you have an arrest warrant?

Don’t ignore it.

Sometimes a warrant happens because you missed court — and sometimes you may not have even known about the hearing. Other times, it may be connected to a new criminal case.

The best move is to deal with it quickly.

An attorney can contact the court and file a motion asking the judge to cancel the warrant or get the case set for a hearing. In some cases, the warrant can be canceled without you ever being arrested.

In more serious cases, the judge may still require an appearance. But even then, getting the case back on the calendar is the first step toward fixing the problem.

The biggest mistake is hoping the warrant will just go away. That reaction is understandable — but waiting usually makes things worse.

I handle these situations often, and helping someone get a warrant resolved and get that weight off their shoulders is one of the most satisfying parts of my work.

09/02/2026

Checking in after a hearing in Santa Fe County District Court. I like practicing up here as a plaintiff’s attorney and as a criminal defense lawyer. I’ve had some luck negotiating good resolutions with opposing counsel in this jurisdiction. And looking forward to a scheduled jury trial here starting at the end of November!

08/23/2026

A recent DWI victory reminded me why the details matter.

My client was charged with a first-offense DWI in Metropolitan Court in Albuquerque. These cases can carry serious consequences, including restrictions on a person’s ability to drive, fines, probation, mandatory programs, and the lasting stigma that comes with a DWI conviction.

During our review of the discovery, we noticed something important: at a critical point in the investigation, the officer inexplicably turned off his lapel camera.

That missing footage mattered.

It went directly to important questions about whether my client was actually impaired and whether he was properly advised of his obligations under New Mexico’s Implied Consent Act before being asked to provide a breath sample.

We were able to identify the problem because we carefully reviewed the discovery, compared the evidence, and paid attention to what was missing—not just what was there.

That ultimately helped us obtain a favorable result for our client.

Body-worn camera evidence can be some of the most important evidence in a criminal case. It can confirm an officer’s account, contradict it, provide context that never makes it into a police report, or reveal that crucial portions of an encounter were not preserved at all.

One of the most important parts of criminal defense is doing the unglamorous work: reading every report, watching every video, checking the timeline, and asking whether the State has actually produced all of the evidence it should have.

Sometimes that careful work changes the entire case.

If you want to read a blog I recently wrote about lapel videos and New Mexico law, check out my blog in the comments:

08/11/2026

One of the things I’m most grateful for about owning my own law firm is the variety—and the opportunity to help people in so many different places and situations.

This morning, I had a case in federal district court in Albuquerque. This afternoon, I drove west to Grants for a hearing at the Cibola County Courthouse.

It was a beautiful drive, and I enjoyed getting to spend some time in another part of New Mexico.

Since starting Max Pines Law, my work has taken me into different courts and communities across the state. Along the way, I’ve gotten to know more attorneys, professionals, clients, families, and people from all walks of life.

Running your own firm comes with plenty of challenges, but days like today remind me why I’m grateful I took the leap. I get to practice law in different places, take on interesting cases, meet people I otherwise never would have met, and—most importantly—help people when they need an advocate.

Today that meant a trip to Grants, New Mexico. Not a bad day at the office.

07/30/2026

07/27/2026

I just had one of those days that reminds me why I became a lawyer.

My client accepted responsibility by entering a plea on a serious case. Crucially, we were able to show the court that he had also taken meaningful steps to change his life. We presented evidence of his commitment to his family, the positive changes he has made, and the counseling he has been receiving.

The judge decided to give him an opportunity to earn a conditional discharge instead of imposing a conviction today.

Watching my client and his family realize they had been given a second chance was incredibly rewarding. Moments like these remind me that good lawyering isn’t just about knowing the law—it’s about helping people tell their story and giving judges the information they need to do justice.

Grateful for the opportunity to do this work.

07/15/2026

After a preventable death, people don’t grieve in neat stages. They may drink harder, sleep less, miss work, snap at family, or end up facing a DWI that would have felt unimaginable six months earlier.

That spiral doesn't erase the original harm, but it can illustrate how loss can spread. When a family is living through grief after a crash, support and treatment can protect health and preserve the full story.


https://maxpineslaw.com/after-a-preventable-death-coping-with-grief-addiction-and-new-legal-problems/

07/13/2026

A lot of constitutional harm enters through ordinary conversation.

A person wants to seem cooperative. An officer phrases a question like small talk. A family later finds out that politeness became evidence.

Rights need space to be discussed in real households. That's why plain-language commentary on police encounters, searches, and silence belongs in everyday life. That's the kind of perspective we share in the newsletter.


https://maxpineslaw.us22.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=f3ddad50daa9e8cc2bac7f180&id=2028437eb7

07/09/2026

Sometimes, the hardest part of court is the hour before: parking, security, the wrong hallway, the tight chest, the fear of being late. Two blocks to the courthouse can change a person’s whole frame of mind. Under stress, people need room to breathe to see the light at the end of the tunnel. That's why it's so important for us to walk with you.


https://maxpineslaw.com/walking-to-court/