Courts

Lawmakers Mull How To Address Teen Gun Problem After Albuquerque Shooting Turns Deadly

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From left, Adrian Maestas, Noah Maestas and Stephanie Maestas, father, son and step mother to the late Adrian Maestas Jr., sit together and listen to other individuals speaking of their loved ones who were lost to homicide during Victims of Homicide Day to honor the lives of New Mexican’s loved ones lost to violence in the Rotunda at the state Capitol on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. Adrian , 15, was shot and killed in Rio Rancho in Oct. 2024. Photo by Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican

Noah Maestas, 7, wears a shirt bearing an image of his late brother Adrian Maestas during Victims of Homicide Day in the Rotunda Read More

Some Support, Some Have Reservations On Complex Criminal Competency Bill In New Mexico House Judiciary Committee

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Rep. Christine Chandler
House Judiciary Committee Chair

By NICHOLAS GILMORE
The Santa Fe New Mexican

Members of the House Judiciary Committee appear ready to support a bipartisan proposal to change the state’s criminal competency laws as part of a larger package of public safety measures.

If approved when the committee takes up the bill next week, House Bill 4 will head to the floor of the state House of Representatives, having cleared its second House committee.

The bill would provide a process for evaluations of competency as well as dangerousness that can be used to order involuntary commitment Read More

Tough-On-Fentanyl Bills Move Forward At Roundhouse In Santa Fe And U.S. Capitol In Washington

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Rep. Charlotte Little

By ESTEBAN CANDELARIA
The Santa Fe New Mexican

Bills toughening penalties for fentanyl trafficking moved forward today in both the Roundhouse and the U.S. Capitol, dividing Democrats between tough-on-crime advocates and those who don’t think stiffer sentences address the root causes of the crisis.

In Santa Fe, House Bill 16, sponsored by state Rep. Charlotte Little, D-Albuquerque, passed the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee on a 6-3 vote. House Democrats who voted against the bill posed questions about the implications and efficacy of slapping Read More

Health Care Authority Urging Lawmakers To Support House Bill 131 To Protect Vulnerable New Mexicans

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HCA News:

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Health Care Authority is urging lawmakers to support House Bill 131 to strengthen background checks for caregivers and help ensure the safety of those under their supervision. 

HB131, sponsored by Rep. Elizabeth “Liz” Thomson, Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil, Rep. Kathleen Cates and Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez scheduled for a hearing today in the House, Health and Human Services Committee at the Roundhouse.

The bill proposes additional criminal offenses that would disqualify an applicant from being hired as a caregiver.

These new crimes include:

  • Animal cruelty 
Read More

Supreme Court Reinstates Convictions Of Grants Man For Harming Intoxicated Woman

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NMSC News:

SANTA FE — The state Supreme Court Thursday reinstated the convictions of a Grants man for raping an intoxicated woman and tampering with evidence about the crime.

The state’s highest court unanimously reversed the Court of Appeals, which had ordered a new trial in the case, and affirmed Joseph Apodaca’s convictions on two counts of criminal sexual penetration and one count of evidence tampering.  He was sentenced to 36 years in prison. 

The justices rejected arguments by Apodaca that the jury should have been instructed to consider a “mistake-of-fact defense” — that he mistakenly Read More

New Mexico Courts Switching To Bilingual Postcards To Notify People Of Jury Duty

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NMSC News:

SANTA FE — New Mexicans will soon receive a postcard, rather than a letter, when they are summoned to jury duty by a state court.

New Mexico is the first statewide court system to use a bilingual postcard summons with instructions for prospective jurors in English and Spanish. View a sample of the postcard here. 

Starting next week, the Judiciary will begin mailing postcards to notify people when they have been ordered to jury duty by one of New Mexico’s district or magistrate courts or the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.

The summons features a QR code that can be scanned with a mobile Read More

State Supreme Court Issues Show Cause Order To Albuquerque Attorney Thomas Clear III

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NMSC News:

The state Supreme Court Monday issued an order for Albuquerque attorney Thomas Clear III to “show cause” why he should not face disciplinary action, including possible suspension from the practice of law in state courts, for his alleged conduct involving DWI cases. Click here to view the order.

Clear’s former investigator pleaded guilty last month to federal charges in what prosecutors have described as a scheme in which law enforcement officers received bribes to help orchestrate the dismissal of DWI charges against motorists. 

The Supreme Court’s order referenced a federal Read More

Robinson: Dems Snub Medical Malpractice Reform

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By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
© 2024 New Mexico News Services

Long before the legislative session started, a full-page ad accosted readers with this headline: “Medical corporations & insurance companies blame patients harmed by medical malpractice for the healthcare crisis so they can distract us from the billions of dollars in profit that go to their out-of-state corporate headquarters.”

Whoa! Nobody is blaming patients who are victims of medical malpractice. And, looking at New Mexico’s ragged hospital network, there’s more red ink than black ink.

The New Mexico Medical Society Read More

Dannemann: A Harder Line On Teenage Criminals

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By MERILEE DANNEMANN
Triple Spaced Again

We remember the murder of a five-year-old girl in 2023, shot in a drive-by incident that was motivated by a dispute between the shooter and another teenager. It still breaks our hearts. That is partly because the little girl, Galilea Samaniego, was an innocent child who was victimized by accident. But it also would have also been tragic if the shooter had murdered the teenage boy who was his intended target.

Another heartbreaking story – last year a gang of young men, older than teenage, murdered Froyland Villegas, age 11, who was on his way home from a ball Read More

Sophomore Lawmaker Files Bill Proposing Dramatic Rewrite Of New Mexico Inspection Of Public Records Act

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Rep. Kathleen Cate

By PHAEDRA HAYWOOD
The Santa Fe New Mexican

A sophomore lawmaker has filed a bill proposing a dramatic rewrite of New Mexico’s public records law that critics warn would have an alarming effect on government transparency and accountability.

The measure would create dozens of new exemptions to the Inspection of Public Records Act, giving state and local government agencies broader authority to refuse to provide requested records.

Rep. Kathleen Cate, D-Rio Rancho, said she doesn’t expect the measure to become law but wanted to start a discussion. 

“IPRA is not broken, but Read More