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Choosing A New District Judge In New Mexico

 

  Whom should the Democrats nominate to run in November for the new judicial position, with a half-criminal and half-civil docket?

The Judicial Nominating Commission considered nine strong candidates, sending four names up to Governor Lujan-Grisham. She, with General Counsel Matt Garcia, interviewed all four and nominated local lawyer Casey Fitch, who will serve at least until year’s end.

November’s election will decide who holds the position after that. The Governor selected Fitch; but former Magistrate Judge Richard Jacquez, whom she also interviewed, is contesting the Democratic nomination. Doña Ana County members of the State Central Committee will choose a nominee next week.

 

Many say the Governor’s selection should end the discussion. She’s a Democrat, and carefully vetted the choices. No one alleges anything improper about the process. In urging Democrats to nominate Fitch, the Governor noted, “Judge Fitch is a native New Mexican, with extensive experience in civil and criminal law and is an excellent public servant with an exemplary record as a lawyer and as a judge,” adding, “Our nominee must have an impeccable record, a proven record of public service, and a dedication to justice. Judge Fitch exceeds all of these criteria.

However, anyone has the legal and ethical right to seek a judicial nomination in the primary – or, where the primary is over, through the Central Committee, as Mr. Jacquez is doing.

These interviews were careful, and a far cry from the “How much did you give the Party this year?” sort we’ve heard allegations about. The Governor participated; and Garcia asked challenging “lawyer questions.”

I’ve talked to Fitch and Jacquez. I suspect either would be a reasonably good judge. I believe I saw, talking to Mr. Fitch, why the Governor chose him. I think they saw in Fitch a uniquely judicial temperament and recognized that he has an unusually broad range of experience, including a Ninth Circuit clerkship after law school. (Those hard-to-get positions give the holder a wide-ranging and intense introduction to deciding tough cases at a high-level. U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal are the last appellate stop before the Supreme Court. They referee battles between some of the nation’s best lawyers.)

Interestingly, each candidate had a DWI conviction in his youth. Jacquez also had an ethics issue in 2004, when he was “informally admonished” for not providing defense counsel with significant evidence. The defendant was a cop. Deputy City Attorney Jacquez and defense counsel interviewed the arresting officer; later, days before trial, Jacquez provided defense counsel with a video of that officer talking about whether or not the defendant was drunk. The Judge reamed him out, and the Disciplinary Board said Jacquez should have produced the video before the interview.

If I were defense counsel, I’d sure want that video before interviewing the witness; but this was 16 years ago, Jacquez was a young lawyer caught in a political situation, and I think he learned from it. Lawyers commenting on Jacquez as Magistrate Judge say he did well, and ran a good courtroom.

Jacquez may want too intensely to be a judge. In 2018, he passed on seeking re-election to Magistrate Court for an unsuccessful primary run for District Judge; and in 2019 he unsuccessfully challenged Joy Goldbaum for Las Cruces Municipal Judge.

I hope the DCC chooses Fitch. I wouldn’t mind seeing Jacquez win some other judicial election; but I agree with the Governor that Fitch could be an especially good judge.