Max Pines Law

10/18/2026

WARNING: Scammers Are Targeting Families of People in Jail in Albuquerque.

Today, I spoke with a mother whose son had recently been arrested on serious felony charges. This was her family’s first experience with the criminal justice system, and she was understandably frightened and overwhelmed.

Shortly after our consultation, she contacted me again. Someone claiming to be an official from Bernalillo County had called her, seemed to know details about her son’s case, and promised that if she sent money, they could put him on an ankle monitor and release him immediately.

It was certainly a scam.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Similar scams have been reported in Albuquerque, with people impersonating court and detention officials to obtain money from families of incarcerated individuals.

I find this particularly disgusting. When someone is arrested, their family is often scared, confused, and desperate to help. The criminal justice system can be difficult to navigate, especially for someone experiencing it for the first time.

To think that people are deliberately exploiting that fear and desperation for money is truly disturbing.

Please be careful. Court officials do not call families offering to arrange someone’s release in exchange for private payments.

10/15/2026

Not guilty on the DWI charge.

Max Pines and Hakim Bellamy recently took a DWI case to trial in Albuquerque’s Metropolitan Court. Our team challenged the evidence through a close review of the officer’s lapel video, questions about the breath alcohol testing, and testimony from our client and a witness.

The judge found our client not guilty of DWI—a meaningful outcome for him and his future.

In this video, Max shares the strategy behind the verdict and why we took the case to trial.

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10/15/2026

Celebrating a win on a DWI trial today back in the office after getting a not-guilty from the Metro Court in Albuquerque!
My client had a close call and got some traffic tickets. But we came out on top due to a good cross examination and our own positive case demonstrating his innocence on the most important charge.
It was fun doing a trial with co-counsel Hakim Bellamy!
Feeling grateful and energized 😎

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.