Courts

Legislative Roundup: 50 Days Remaining In Session

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By Santa Fe New Mexican staff

Committee OKs anti-hazing bill: A bill to curb the practice of hazing in New Mexico schools cleared its first hurdle Friday.

Senate Bill 10, sponsored by Sen. Harold Pope, D-Albuquerque, and Rep. Pamelya Herndon, D-Albuquerque, would make hazing and a school employee’s failure to report incidents of it misdemeanor offenses. The bill would also implement several hazing prevention measures in colleges and universities.

The bill faced a brief stall after first being heard in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, with opponents and lawmakers making the Read More

Supreme Court Honors Retired Justice H. Vern Payne

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New Mexico Supreme Court Senior Justice Michael E. Vigil presents Justice H. Vern Payne with a commemorative volume of opinions the retired justice wrote while on the Court. Courtesy photo

Justice Payne listens to a few kind words from son-in-law and Thirteenth Judicial District Court Judge Allen Smith, whose courtroom is where the ceremony took place. Courtesy photo

NMSC News:

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court honored retired Justice H. Vern Payne with a published commemorative compilation of opinions he wrote while serving on the Supreme Court from 1977 to 1983.

“We are honored to present Read More

Heinrich, Cassidy, Grassley Introduce Bipartisan Halt All Lethal Trafficking Of Fentanyl Act

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From the Office of U.S. Sen. Heinrich:

          • Bipartisan legislation would permanently place fentanyl-related substances into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, helping law enforcement combat fentanyl trafficking, while advancing scientific and medical research

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced the bipartisan Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act to permanently classify fentanyl-related substances (FRS) as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act.

This Read More

First Wave Of Crime Bills Get Hearing But No Vote

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Committee Chair Sen. Joe Cervantes

By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican

The Senate Judiciary Committee pored over the first in a series of crime bills the Legislature will consider during the 60-day session but didn’t vote on any of them Wednesday.

The committee chair, Sen. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, said lawmakers may try to roll several crime bills into one public safety package that will be voted on as a whole.

“We want to do the work of hearing the bills, engage in the committee in debate, taking care of all the public hearing components of a bill but then waiting on a vote until we Read More

State Chief Judge Talks Pretrial Detention, Judicial Pay

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Chief Justice David K. Thomson enters the House chambers to deliver the State of the Judiciary speech Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. Photo by Michael G. Seamans/The New Mexican

By PHAEDRA HAYWOOD
The Santa Fe New Mexican

In what is anticipated to be a public safety-dominated legislative session, state Supreme Court Chief Justice David Thomson told a joint session of the House and Senate Thursday the question of what to do about crime is a complex one. 

This question reveals the challenges and burdens imposed on the judicial branch, Thomson said, and in today’s world one might just as well ask: Read More

Chief Justice David K. Thomson Asks Lawmakers To Address Funding Needs Of State Courts

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Chief Justice David K. Thomson delivers the State of the Judiciary address. Courtesy/Administrative Office of the Courts

NMSC News:

SANTA FE – Chief Justice David K. Thomson urged the Legislature Jan. 23 to provide funding to upgrade court security and technology, cover the costs of jury trials and improve employee pay to lessen turnover in court staff.

In his State of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the Legislature, the Chief Justice stressed the need for adequate funding for state courts to carry out their essential day-to-day functions of resolving civil and criminal cases. Read More

Somos Un Pueblo Unido Launches Know Your Rights Campaign Amid Anticipated Threats to Civil Liberties

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From Somos Un Pueblo Unido:

SANTA FE — In anticipation of growing threats to civil rights under Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. President, Somos Un Pueblo Unido is launching a Know Your Rights campaign. This initiative aims to empower all individuals—regardless of immigration status—with the knowledge and tools they need to protect their constitutional rights in a climate that threatens to undermine them.

The Know Your Rights campaign is a proactive response to the potential dangers posed by the Trump administration, which has previously pursued policies aimed at rounding up and deporting Read More

Supreme Court Rules That Anti-Discrimination Law Applies To Public Schools And Public Universities

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NMSC News:

SANTA FE — Public schools and universities may be sued for discriminatory conduct under the New Mexico Human Rights Act (NMHRA), the state Supreme Court ruled Jan. 23.

In a unanimous opinion, New Mexico’s highest court concluded that public schools and public universities are a place of “public accommodation” under terms of the state’s anti-discrimination law.

The ruling allows a lawsuit to move forward by a Native American student, McKenzie Johnson, who was allegedly called a “bloody Indian” by a high school teacher in Albuquerque during a class on Halloween in 2018. Johnson, Read More

Lawmakers Praise Administrative Office Of The Courts For Progress On Assisted Outpatient Treatment

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State Supreme Court Chief Justice David Thomson

By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican

The Administrative Office of the Courts drew praise from lawmakers Thursday for the progress it has made in implementing pilot projects designed to expand the availability of involuntary mental health treatment.

During last year’s special session, the Legislature ignored much of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s legislative agenda, which included changes to the state’s criminal competency and civil commitment statutes.

But lawmakers did appropriate $3 million for the courts to implement so-called Read More

NM Supreme Court Rules APS Accountable To Anti-Discrimination Laws After Teacher Disrespects Student

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ACLU News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) must adhere to state anti-discrimination laws, ruled the New Mexico Supreme Court Jan. 23.

The ruling comes after a Cibola High School teacher, in front of the entire class, cut one Native American student’s braid without consent and called another student a “bloody Indian” on Halloween of 2018. 

The decision upholds the June 2023 ruling of the New Mexico Appeals Court and finds that public schools are subject to the anti-discrimination protections in the New Mexico Human Rights Act.

Further, this case, McKenzie Johnson v. Board of Read More