Courts

Negotiations On New Mexico Medical Malpractice Bill Stall Over Punitive Damages

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HB99 Sponsor Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos

By CLARA BATES and MARGARET O’HARA
The Santa Fe New Mexican

A group convened by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to come to an agreement on changing the state’s medical malpractice law was still negotiating behind the scenes the week of a key House committee hearing on the measure. 

One sticking point, according to an attorney participating in the talks, has been whether or not to cap punitive damages for hospitals.

House Bill 99, set for a debate before the House Health and Human Services Committee on Friday morning, would establish caps for Read More

GOP Senators Introduce Bill To End ‘Trial Lawyers’ Chokehold On New Mexico Healthcare’

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Scene from the Roundhouse where Special Sessions are currently underway. Courtesy/Senate GOP

Sen. Craig Brandt is holding legislation that he and Senators Pat Woods, Nicole Tobiassen and Steve Lanier signed. Courtesy photo

Senate Republicans News:

SANTA FE — Four Republican Senators introduced a bill to prohibit obscene “punitive damages” payouts to trial lawyers at the expense of patients and doctors. In 2021, Democrats pushed through damaging increases to the punitive caps on medical malpractice claims, action that has created a crisis in healthcare access for New Mexico families. Read More

FBI: Shiprock Man Gets 78 Months In Prison For Unlawfully Possessing Loaded Shotgun

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — A Shiprock man was sentenced to 78 months in prison for unlawfully possessing a loaded shotgun, which he obtained by stealing and attempting to sell it.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court records, Aug. 10, 2022, Crandall Craig Martin, 42, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, stole a loaded firearm with the intention of trading it for alcohol or money to buy alcohol. As both a previously convicted felon and misdemeanant convicted of a crime of domestic violence, Martin was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.

Martin subsequently Read More

FBI: Albuquerque Man Charged After FBI Finds Modified Hand Grenade In His Home

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man has been federally charged with unlawfully possessing an improvised explosive device following the discovery of a modified hand grenade in his home.

According to court documents, on Dec. 31, 2025, the Albuquerque Police Department responded to a residence in northwest Albuquerque after the resident, Jeff Bramlett, 46, requested medical assistance. While assisting at the residence, officers observed what appeared to be hand grenades and requested assistance from the FBI’s Albuquerque Special Agent Bomb Technicians.

Agents located two devices, Read More

Supreme Court Rules On Exclusion Of Expert Witness Affidavit In Malpractice Case

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NMSC News:

SANTA FE — The state Supreme Court ruled that a trial court acted properly in striking a sworn statement of an expert witness in a medical malpractice case because it was filed months after a court-imposed deadline for submitting such evidence.

In a unanimous opinion, the Court concluded that the district court in Bernalillo County “properly exercised its inherent authority to enforce its scheduling order” that governed when certain events must occur in the case. 

The justices rejected arguments that the trial court had effectively imposed a sanction of dismissal of the case by its Read More

New Mexico Senate Committee Discusses Harsher Penalties For Felons With Guns

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By ESTEBAN CANDELARIA
The Santa Fe New Mexican

The illegal possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a crime carries serious penalties in New Mexico — at least three years in prison.

Still, hundreds of people have been charged with the offense in recent years.

So, how can New Mexico better deter the problem?

That was the question lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee pondered Monday afternoon, as the Legislature gears up to consider several proposals designed to curb violent crime in New Mexico during this year’s 30-day session.

For Ben Baker, senior public safety adviser Read More

FBI: Albuquerque Man Gets 19 Years For Online Sextortion

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — An Albuquerque man was sentenced to 19 and a half years in prison for coercing a 15-year-old girl into producing sexually explicit images over several years and for sexually exploiting a second victim who was 12 years old.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court records, between 2019 and 2022, Adrian Puentes, 26, engaged in an ongoing pattern of sextortion and sexual exploitation involving two minor victims. Beginning when Jane Doe 1 was in eighth grade, Puentes used multiple social media platforms, including Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok, to Read More

New Mexico Supreme Court Issues Opinion Abolishing Lawsuits For Alienation Of Affections

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NMSC News:

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court (NMSC) Monday issued a precedent-setting opinion eliminating legal claims for damages for the loss of a spouse’s affections in a marriage.

The Court’s unanimous opinion provides the legal reasoning for a ruling from the bench last August ordering a trial court to dismiss a civil lawsuit that sought to hold a New Mexico resident liable for the breakup of a Colorado man’s marriage. The Colorado couple is now divorced.

The ruling by the state’s highest court abolished the “tort of alienation of affections” by overturning a legal precedent from a Read More

Campaign Finance Records Show Big Spending In New Mexico Malpractice Fight

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By NATHAN BROWN
The Santa Fe New Mexican

There’s a lot of money at stake when it comes to New Mexico’s medical malpractice laws.

Perhaps it’s not surprising advocates on both sides of the issue contribute a lot to lawmakers’ campaigns.

From the 2020 primary election cycle through 2026, the Committee on Individual Responsibility — the political action committee associated with the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association — has made $937,000 in donations to individual politicians or their PACs and $442,200 to broader PACs such as those associated with House and Senate Democrats and the state House Read More

NMSP Investigates Officer-Involved Shooting In Artesia

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NMSP News:

ARTESIA — Jan. 21, 2026, the New Mexico State Police (NMSP) Investigations Bureau was requested by the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force to investigate an officer-involved shooting (OIS) involving one of their detectives.

Investigations Bureau agents learned earlier that day, the United States Marshals Service requested assistance from the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, in apprehending Aaron Cane Vasquez (27). Vasquez was wanted on a no-bond probation violation warrant with nationwide extradition. Vasquez was also identified as a person of interest in Read More