Courts

Op-Ed: The Constitutional Promise … Why The Right To Counsel And A Day In Court Define Our Justice System

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By CYNTHIA FRY
Retired Judge
New Mexico Court of Appeals

Deb Haaland’s campaign for Governor has chosen a troubling line of attack, often used against lawyers, criticizing Sam Bregman for representing people accused of crimes. It may be convenient politics, but it is fundamentally at odds with our Constitution and with the very principles that define our justice system. Our system accepts that both the government and the accused have attorneys. They battle it out in a courtroom and a jury decides guilt or innocence. This system protects all of us from government abuse.

At the core of this system Read More

FBI: Shiprock Man Pleads Guilty To Abusing Minor And Faces Life In Prison

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE – A Shiprock man pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor over a four-year period.

According to court documents, Brian Begay, 30, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, engaged in a pattern of sexual abuse against Jane Doe between 2015 and 2019, beginning when the victim was 12 and continuing until she was 16.

Begay pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor and abusive sexual contact and faces up to life in prison at sentencing.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Read More

Justice Vargas Takes Oath Of Office As Chief Justice

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Chief Justice Julie J. Vargas takes the oath of office from Justice David K. Thomson, her predecessor as Chief Justice. Courtesy/Administrative Office of the Courts

Chief Justice Julie J. Vargas, NM. Courtesy/Supreme Court)

NMSC News:

SANTA FE — April 8, Justice Julie J. Vargas became Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Vargas was sworn into office after being elected by her colleagues on the Court to a two-year term. She is the 44th person to serve as Chief Justice of the state’s highest court. She succeeds Justice David K. Thomson, who had been Chief Justice since 2024.  Read More

New Mexico Judiciary Develops Interdisciplinary Educational Program For Judges

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Chief Justice David K. Thomson speaking to employees of the Administrative Office of the Courts in 2025. Courtesy/AOC 
COURT News:

SANTA FE — Judges can explore the law and its origins in more depth through a new judicial educational program that brings together three leading research and academic institutions.

The program, called “To the Roots,” was developed by New Mexico’s Court Education Institute and Chief Justice David K. Thomson.

“This is an advanced program for judges that blends scientific methods from Los Alamos National Laboratory, seminar-based studies at St. John’s College, Read More

New Mexico Supreme Court Rejects Prosecution Arguments For Change In Legal Tests In Double Jeopardy Cases

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Courtesy/NMSC

COURT News:

SANTA FE — The state Supreme Court today reaffirmed the legal framework followed in New Mexico to determine whether a defendant’s convictions violate constitutional double jeopardy protections against multiple punishments for the same crime.

In a unanimous opinion deciding an appeal of a criminal case, New Mexico’s highest court declined “to take the drastic step of overruling decades of our own precedent” and explained that state prosecutors in the Colfax County case “might have obtained multiple convictions under our current approach without violating Read More

Governor Appoints Bernitz To Eleventh Judicial District 

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STATE News:

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has announced the appointment of John William Bernitz as the Eleventh Judicial District Attorney, Division II, serving McKinley County.

Bernitz’s appointment is effective immediately and will last until the next general election as provided by law. He currently serves as Chief Deputy District Attorney in the Office of the District Attorney, Eleventh Judicial District, a position he has held since October 2025.

He previously operated the Law Office of John Bernitz in Gallup from 2021 to 2023, handling criminal and family law matters.

Bernitz Read More

FBI: Albuquerque Man Sentenced To Life Plus 60 Months For Violent Kidnapping-for-Ransom Scheme

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man was sentenced to life in prison plus 60 months after a federal jury convicted him on kidnapping charges stemming from a 2018 abduction, following nearly seven years on the run from law enforcement.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in 2018, just weeks after his release from prison for a felony firearm conviction stemming from a high-speed police chase, and while under court supervision and wearing a GPS ankle monitor, Jose Ramirez, 47, engineered a calculated and violent kidnapping-for-ransom Read More

Groundbreaking April 2 For Magistrate Court In Santa Fe

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Santa Fe Magistrate Courthouse design. Courtesy photo

NMSC News:

SANTA FE — A groundbreaking for a new Magistrate Courthouse in Santa Fe will occur at 2 p.m., Thursday, April 2, at 2551 Camino Entrada in the Valdez Industrial Park on the city’s south side.

The three-story, 48,000 square foot courthouse will have six courtrooms, public parking for 100 vehicles with additional parking for jurors and court personnel, and a secure area for temporarily holding and transporting detainees. 

The new courthouse will replace a leased building at 2056 Galisteo St. that has been used as the Santa Fe County Read More

FBI: Border Patrol Agent Charged With Civil Rights Violation And Evidence Tampering Faces 20 Years In Prison

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — A federal grand jury has indicted a U.S. Border Patrol agent for allegedly assaulting a handcuffed detainee and later concealing evidence to obstruct an investigation.

According to court records, May 22, 2023, Eduardo Prat, 40, allegedly strangled John Doe while performing his official duties as a Border Patrol agent in Doña Ana County, N.M. John Doe was handcuffed at the time of the alleged assault.

Subsequently, between May 22 and June 12, 2023, Prat allegedly concealed and covered up a body camera recording of the assault.

Prat is charged in federal court with deprivation Read More

Op-Ed: Ethical Rules Apply To Judges And Judicial Candidates In New Mexico

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By Karl Reifsteck
Director
Administrative Office of the Courts 

The founders of our nation viewed a fair, impartial, and independent judiciary as a cornerstone for the government they envisioned 250 years ago when breaking free from the British monarchy. The founders wanted judges who followed the rule of law rather than the King’s commands.

Under our nation’s foundational principles, judges today decide legal disputes based on the law and the facts of a case. In doing that, judges must set aside their personal views and remain unwaveringly focused on the law. The requirement for fairness Read More