## Facts

- The State of New Mexico prosecuted Paul S. Hartzler (often misspelled “Hartzier” in secondary sources) after a woman died on his property and her body was kept for an extended time without burial.
- The prosecution proceeded on the common-law petty misdemeanor described as “indecent handling of a dead body” (also described as “treating a dead body indecently”).
- Hartzler was initially charged in a justice of the peace court and pleaded guilty.
- He appealed to the district court for a trial de novo, entered a not-guilty plea, and was found guilty; the district court entered judgment and sentence.
- Hartzler appealed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals.
- On appeal, Hartzler challenged (among other points) whether New Mexico recognizes the charged offense as a valid common-law crime, whether he was actually tried and sentenced for that offense rather than some different “neglect to bury” theory, and whether his conduct and mental state supported criminal liability.

## Issues

1. Whether New Mexico law recognizes, through its common-law adoption statute, the common-law misdemeanor of indecent handling of a dead body when no criminal-code provision applies.
2. Whether Hartzler was properly charged with and convicted of that common-law offense (as opposed to a different, non-charged offense such as “neglect to bury”).
3. Whether the charging papers and record provided sufficient notice of the offense and a lawful basis for the judgment and sentence.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals held that New Mexico recognizes certain common-law crimes by statute when the criminal code does not cover the conduct.
- The court concluded that “indecent handling of a dead body” is such a common-law offense and is punishable in New Mexico under the common-law adoption provision.
- The court rejected Hartzler’s attempt to recharacterize the case as a prosecution for some other offense (such as “neglect to bury”) and treated the record and stipulation as establishing that the charge and conviction were for indecent handling of a dead body.
- The court affirmed the district court’s judgment and sentence.

## Legal Principles

- When no provision of the criminal code applies, New Mexico’s common-law adoption statute allows applicable common law (as recognized in the United States and other states) to govern criminal cases.
- A common-law crime may be prosecuted in New Mexico under that statute where the common-law offense is recognized and fits the circumstances.
- Courts look to the charging documents, the record, and party stipulations to determine what offense was charged and tried; a defendant cannot avoid affirmance by relabeling the conviction as a different offense inconsistent with the record.
- A conviction will be affirmed when the charged offense is legally cognizable, the proceedings show the defendant was tried and sentenced for that offense, and the judgment rests on a lawful basis.

## Conclusion

State v. Hartzier (officially reported as State v. Hartzler) affirmed a conviction for the common-law misdemeanor of indecent handling of a dead body after the defendant kept a woman’s corpse on his property for an extended period without burial. The New Mexico Court of Appeals held that the offense is recognized in New Mexico through the state’s common-law adoption statute where the criminal code supplies no governing provision, and it concluded the record showed Hartzler was charged with and convicted of that common-law offense; therefore, the judgment and sentence were affirmed.


State v. Hartzier, 433 P.2d 231 (1967)