New Mexico

N.M. Governor Signs Bill Repealing Death Penalty

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has changed his earlier stance and signed a bill repealing the death penalty in the state. Richardson called his change of heart the “most difficult decision in my political life,” the Associated Press reports. “Faced with the reality that our system for imposing the death…

Mar 19, 2009 11:08 AM CDT

N.M. Lawmakers Repeal Death Penalty

The legislature of New Mexico voted today to repeal the state’s death penalty, replacing it with a sentence of life without possibility of parole. The bill now goes to the governor for his signature, reports the Associated Press. Although Gov. Bill Richardson has previously said he would oppose such legislation,…

Mar 14, 2009 12:09 AM CDT

Judicial Diversity is Lacking, But Here’s What to Do to Improve, Report Says

Women and minorities are still underrepresented on the state trial and appellate court bench, regardless whether the judges are elected or appointed to their positions. But there are things that can be done to include their chances of winning seats proportionate to their representation in the general population, according to…

Feb 2, 2009 9:13 PM CST

Law Prof to Head White House Military Office

This week President-elect Barack Obama announced that University of New Mexico Law Professor Louis E. Caldera will head the White House Military Office. In the role, Caldera, a former Clinton secretary of the Army, will oversee all White House military operations, including Air Force One, Camp David and presidential trips…

Dec 3, 2008 7:59 PM CST

N.M. Supreme Court Is Fifth to Strike Down Class Action Waiver

State supreme courts are increasingly striking down mandatory arbitration agreements that bar class action lawsuits. The latest state court to act is New Mexico’s, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). It ruled last week that a class action ban was unconscionable because it “essentially foreclosed” relief in a case…

Jul 3, 2008 10:52 AM CDT

Jackson Lewis Opens in N.M. & Memphis; 5th & 6th New Offices This Year

National employment boutique Jackson Lewis has opened an office in Albuquerque, N.M., acquiring four lawyers from the city’s Noeding & Jarrett in order to do so. The office is the firm’s 37th, and the fifth new outpost it has opened so far this year, reports the New Mexico Business Journal.…

Jun 26, 2008 11:20 PM CDT

WiFi-Sensitive Individuals Claim ADA Violation

The city attorney in Santa Fe, N.M., is investigating claims that wireless Internet signals are a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act because they can cause an allergic reaction. Arthur Firstenberg says he is highly sensitive to wireless signals and he experiences chest pain from WiFi, KOB-TV reports. His…

May 27, 2008 11:58 AM CDT

Judge Holds DWI Court at High School

Instead of waiting to see area high school students show up on the wrong side of his courtroom, New Mexico Magistrate Danny Hawkes has decided to take his courtroom on the road—holding DWI hearings in packed auditoriums and requiring defendants to give impromptu speeches about why these youngsters shouldn’t drink…

Mar 31, 2008 10:33 PM CDT

Law Firm Employee’s $400,000 Shopping Spree

An employee of a New Mexico law firm reportedly went on a $400,000 shopping spree with credit cards sent to the Vigil Law Firm until she was eventually found out. Melissa Espinoza, who formerly worked for four years as a secretary and bookkeeper for the firm, agreed to accept a…

Mar 11, 2008 5:30 PM CDT

Prosecuting Overdose Witnesses Debated

A fatal drug overdose of a Greenwich, Conn., surgeon is calling attention to an issue that has long troubled prosecutors: whether to prosecute witnesses. In the Greenwich case, Stamford, Conn., law enforcement officials debated whether to file charges against the surgeon’s friend for providing the drugs and failing to call…

Jan 29, 2008 9:25 PM CST

Santa Fe Courthouse Ghost Mystery Solved (Video)

Just in time to quell any fears before Halloween, an investigator says he has solved the mystery of the Santa Fe Courthouse ghost. Benjamin Radford, Albuquerque, N.M.-based professional scientific paranormal investigator and managing editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine, concludes that the specter seen by more than 130,000 times on YouTube…

Oct 30, 2007 9:16 PM CDT

NM Judge Suspended re No-Rent Housing

A New Mexico judge who lived rent-free for almost two years in government-owned low-income housing has been disciplined. Bernalillo County Metropolitan Judge Theresa Gomez, who earns about $103,000 annually, has been suspended without pay for two weeks by the New Mexico Supreme Court, the Associated Press reports today. She will…

Oct 26, 2007 5:31 PM CDT

Did ‘Kid Nation’ Abuse Children?

It almost sounds like a law school exam question. Forty children, ages 8 to 15, are reportedly transported, without their parents, to a ranch in the New Mexico desert near Santa Fe. There they live and work together for 40 days, building a town and a society, supervised only by…

Aug 27, 2007 5:31 PM CDT

Two Fired U.S. Attys Suggest Criminal Charges

Two former U.S. attorneys allegedly fired as part of a political purge reportedly predict possible criminal charges against senior Justice Department officials as a result of the dismissals. “I think there will be a criminal case that will come out of this,” John McKay, former U.S. Attorney for western Washington…

May 10, 2007 1:51 AM CDT

Border Courts Swamped With Felonies

Federal courts along the border with Mexico are swamped with immigration-related felony cases, the Associated Press reports. Judges in New Mexico had the heaviest caseload, handling 397 felony cases last year compared to the national average of 84 cases. Chief Judge John M. Roll of the District of Arizona told…

Apr 27, 2007 6:36 PM CDT