Courts

AG Balderas Announces $415 Million In Additional Relief For Students Defrauded By ITT Tech

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Attorney General Hector Balderas

From the Office of the Attorney General:

ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, alongside the federal Department of Education and attorneys general in Colorado and Illinois, today announced $415 million in additional debt relief for students defrauded by ITT Tech.

ITT Tech, which closed in 2016, repeatedly lied to students about its accreditation and students’ job prospects.

“New Mexicans who were trying to achieve the American dream should have never been abused by this defunct for-profit school, and I am glad we were able to partner Read More

New Mexico Attorney General Balderas Successful In Enforcing Court Order Against Cowboys For Trump

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New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas

From the Attorney General’s Office:

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas announced a victory for the State yesterday, in a ruling on appeal that helps ensure New Mexico’s elections remain open and transparent.

In 2020, Cowboys for Trump filed suit challenging the constitutionality of New Mexico’s Campaign Reporting Act after the group had refused to comply with an order to register with the New Mexico Secretary of State or identify its major funders.

The New Mexico federal district court had dismissed Cowboys for Trump’s lawsuit, but Cowboys Read More

So-called Second Chance Bill To End Life Sentences Without Parole For New Mexico Youth Pulled Amid Pushback

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By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican

The so-called Second Chance bill will have no chance during this year’s legislative session.

Sponsors of Senate Bill 43, which would’ve banned life without the possibility of parole as a sentencing option for juveniles convicted of first-degree murder, have pulled the proposed piece of legislation from consideration.

“In the final week of the session, it has been frustrating to watch a chorus of voices drowned out by a handful of District Attorneys and other parties who have misrepresented this issue to victims of tragedy across our state,” the sponsors Read More

FBI: Albuquerque Man Gets 4.9 Years For Cyberstalking

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE – Mark Christopher Arnold, 39, of Albuquerque, was sentenced in federal court Feb. 9 to four years and nine months in prison for interstate communication of threats, cyberstalking, unauthorized computer access in furtherance of cyberstalking, and aggravated identity theft.

Arnold pleaded guilty July 14, 2020 to a four-count indictment.

According to the indictment and other court records, Arnold and the victim were involved in a relationship from 2016 to 2018, when the victim ended the relationship after an incident in which Arnold pointed a loaded pistol at her. Read More

Spence Law Firm Settles Battery Explosion Case: Federal Court In Albuquerque Awards $2.5 Million To Injured Air Force Serviceman

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SPENCE LAW FIRM News:

ALBUQUERQUE — The Spence Law Firm, one of New Mexico’s largest personal injury and wrongful death law firms, recently obtained a jury verdict involving an Air Force serviceman severely burned on his leg, groin and hands as a result of lithium-ion batteries exploding in his pants pocket.

The victim was awarded $2.5 million in damages by a Federal Court jury in Albuquerque.

The injured man had purchased the battery from a retailer in Otero County, N.M. for use in his E-cigarette. The evidence presented to the jury confirmed that the batteries were improperly designed and manufactured Read More

Bill Requiring New Mexico Courts To Assess Ability To Pay When Imposing Fines Clears House, Now Heads To Senate

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By PHAEDRA HAYWOOD
The Santa Fe New Mexican

A bill that would require courts to consider people’s ability to pay when imposing fines and fees and allow more ways for defendants to settle court debts has cleared the House of Representatives and is headed to the Senate for discussion.

House Bill 81 would require courts to assess a person’s ability to pay before imposing fines for a conviction and would allow cost exemptions for people who are declared indigent.
Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, (D-Mesilla), the legislation’s sponsor, said the measure makes sense in part because of
Read More

Albuquerque Democratic Lawmaker Booked Into Jail On Charge Of Aggravated DWI

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Rep. Georgene Louis (D-Albuquerque)

By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The New Mexican

State Rep. Georgene Louis, a prominent Democrat from Albuquerque, is the latest lawmaker to face drunken-driving allegations in recent years.

She was booked into the Santa Fe County jail early Monday morning on suspicion of aggravated DWI and other charges.

Louis, who has been a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives since 2013, chairs the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee, which canceled its meeting at 8:30 a.m.

She issued a remorseful statement late Monday through her attorney, Kitren Read More

FBI: Albuquerque Man Remains Detained On Bank Robbery Charge … If Convicted Faces Up To 20 Years In Prison

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Jason Scott Deane, 57, of Albuquerque, appeared in federal court Feb. 4 for a preliminary and detention hearing on a charge of bank robbery.

Deane will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled.

According to a criminal complaint, Sept. 23, 2021, Deane allegedly entered the Bank of the West on Central Avenue SW in Albuquerque and handed a teller a demand note and a plastic bag.

The teller complied with the demand, and Deane allegedly fled the bank on an orange motorcycle. Deane allegedly proceeded to the Sky City Casino in Cibola County, where he told an Read More

Bill Banning Life Sentences For Juveniles Advances House

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By ROBERT NOTT
The Santa Fe New Mexican

Carissa McGee was 16 when she stabbed her mother and sister in a high-profile attack in 2006. She served about nine years of a 21-year adult prison sentence.

The former high school basketball star said she worked to better herself while she was behind bars for one reason — “I had a light at end of the tunnel to improve my choice,” she told state lawmakers Thursday. “I had a parole date.”

McGee, who is now an advocate for prisoners and members of the LGBTQ community, provided some of the most compelling testimony in favor a contentious measure that would ban a life Read More