Courts

Sirphey Files $5 Million Lawsuit Against Los Alamos County And 24 Others

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By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

Sirphey, LLC, which includes Owner Prashant Jain and Communication Director Cortni Nucklos, filed a $5 million federal lawsuit June 22 against Los Alamos County, several of its entities, and individuals in County government and in the community.

The lawsuit stems from a County issued stop work order Sirphey received November 2019 for property it previously leased at 813 Central Ave., in Mari Mac Shopping Center.

Jain and Nucklos declined to comment on this pending litigation.

Los Alamos County Attorney Alvin Leaphart responded Read More

New Mexico Governor Makes Judicial Appointments

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Post file photo

From the Office of the Governor:

SANTA FE – New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has announced the appointment of three judges.

  • David Allen Murphy to the Second Judicial District Court serving Bernalillo County;
  • Karl William Reifsteck to the Thirteenth Judicial District Court serving Cibola, Sandoval, and Valencia counties; and
  • Asra Imtiaz Elliott to the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.

Murphy most recently served as a Judge in the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Criminal Division since 2019, where he presided over the Community Veterans Court specialty Read More

AG Balderas Announces Offender Faces 21 Years After Pleading Guilty To Possession And Distribution Of CSAM

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Attorney General Hector Balderas

From the Office of the Attorney General:

ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas announces another successful case resolution as James Lucher accepted a plea agreement July 7.

Lucher was charged with one count of distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and one count of possession of CSAM in 2019.

On the day his trial was to commence, Lucher pled guilty to both counts and faces a maximum of 21 years at sentencing, which will be held at a later date.

“No child should be treated like a sexual object, and my office will always hold those accountable Read More

Attorney General Announces Successful Judicial Order In TX v. NM To Finalize Historic Water Settlement Agreement

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Attorney General Hector Balderas

AG News:

SANTA FE — New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas has announced that the Court has agreed to put off the trial in the long-running dispute between Texas, New Mexico and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation over the waters of the Rio Grande River.\

The delay is due to the Parties having agreed to continue negotiating a settlement agreement that could finally resolve the case and could save taxpayers potentially millions of dollars in litigation fees and costs.

“We assembled the best legal and scientific team in the nation to disprove that our farmers and Read More

Balderas Issues Statement On Supreme Court Decision To Limit E.P.A.’s Ability To Restrict Power Plant Emissions

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From the Office of the Attorney General:

ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas issued the following statement Thursday after the Supreme Court decision limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants:

“Despite the Supreme Court’s decision, climate change presents a real danger to our communities, and we will continue the work to mitigate harms the energy industry creates to our environment,” Attorney General Balderas said. Read More

New Mexico Supreme Court Declines To Lessen State’s Evidentiary Burden For Pretrial Detention

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NMSC News:

SANTA FE — Evidence about the “nature and circumstances” of a charged offense is not enough by itself to prove that a defendant should be jailed while awaiting trial, the state Supreme Court concluded in an opinion issued Thursday.

Under a 2016 amendment to Article II, Section 13 of the New Mexico Constitution, a felony defendant can be held in jail while awaiting trial if prosecutors prove two elements — that a defendant is dangerous and that pretrial detention of the person is the only way to protect the safety of the community.

“To allow the State to rely solely on the nature and circumstances Read More

FBI: Federal Jury Finds Shiprock Man Guilty Of Assault

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico Alexander M.M. Uballez announced June 17 that a federal jury returned a guilty verdict on Christopher Kee, 28, of Shiprock.

The jury convicted Kee of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm.

A grand jury indicted Kee May 25, 2022. According to the indictment and other court records, during an argument April 19, 2020, Kee threw the victim, identified in court records as Jane Doe 1, onto a bed and prevented her from getting up. Kee retrieved a pocketknife and stabbed Jane Doe 1 several times. Kee also Read More

Balderas Joins $230M Settlement Against Pharmaceutical Company Over Allegations Of Medicaid Fraud

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New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas

From the Office of the Attorney General:

ALBUQUERQUE — Attorney General Hector Balderas announces that New Mexico has joined with 49 other states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the federal government to settle allegations of fraud against Mallinckrodt ARD, LLC (formerly known as Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), a U.S. subsidiary of the Irish pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt plc (Mallinckrodt), which sells and markets pharmaceutical products throughout the nation.

The total value of the settlement is $233,707,865.18, plus interest, Read More

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham On Overturning Roe V. Wade

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From the Office of the Governor:

SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the following statement this morning upon the release of the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion:

“The moment we have long dreaded has arrived, and our nation will be the worse for it. With this ruling, the Supreme Court has unilaterally thrown out 50 years of judicial precedent and subverted the will of millions of Americans who believe in a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her body. Read More

AG Balderas: 12-Year Sentence For Vehicular-Homicide Conviction That Killed 18-Year-Old Albuquerque Resident

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AG News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Tuesday, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas announced that Bernadette Etsitty was sentenced to 12 years for the DWI-based vehicular homicide of Roxana Saenz, the maximum allowed under the plea agreement. Etsitty was convicted by a guilty plea in April 2022.

“Drunk driving devastates our families, and public safety depends on our state leaders to enforce accountability to keep dangerous drivers off the streets,” Attorney General Balderas said. 

On the evening of June 23, 2020, Etsitty drove drunk, swerving into oncoming traffic and crashing into a Read More