Courts

NMELC Files Lawsuit Against Doña Ana County Commission

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The Doña Ana County Commission held a hearing on funding for Project Jupiter on Sep.19, 2025. Photo by Leah Romero/Source NM

NMELC News:

LAS CRUCES — On Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, New Mexico Environmental Law Center filed a second lawsuit against the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners in the Third Judicial District Court, for violating the New Mexico Open Meetings Act. 

On Sep. 19, 2025, during a regular open meeting and public hearing by the Doña

Ana County Board of Commissioners (Board), the Board moved into closed session without proper notice and reasonable specificity for the closed session, Read More

New Mexico Supreme Court Data Dashboard Now Online

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Courtesy/New Mexico Supreme Court

NMSC News:

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court has published a new data dashboard for the public to get information about the Court’s performance measures that focus on case management.

“The Judiciary dashboard identifies what the Supreme Court has been doing throughout the year and demonstrates a transparent way to show our accountability to New Mexicans,” Chief Justice David K. Thomson said.

The dashboard provides information about the number and types of cases opened, the number of cases closed, and the average number of days to resolve cases from Read More

FBI: Men Sentenced For Kidnapping, Human Smuggling Scheme

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Two Guatemalan nationals were sentenced to prison for orchestrating a ransom scheme in which they held 11 undocumented immigrants captive and extorted their families under threats of violence and cartel retaliation.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court records, the FBI received a kidnapping complaint on March 1, 2025, alleging that the family of an undocumented immigrant was being extorted for ransom under threats of violence and cartel involvement. Agents traced the ransom calls to a residence in southwest Albuquerque and executed a search Read More

New Mexico Supreme Court Data Dashboard Now Online

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NMSC News:

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court has published a new data dashboard for the public to get information about the Court’s performance measures that focus on case management.

“The Judiciary dashboard identifies what the Supreme Court has been doing throughout the year and demonstrates a transparent way to show our accountability to New Mexicans,” Chief Justice David K. Thomson said. 

The dashboard provides information about the number and types of cases opened, the number of cases closed, and the average number of days to resolve cases from the time they were initially filed. Read More

FBI: Shiprock Man Pleads Guilty To Violent Assault

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — A Shiprock man pleaded guilty in federal court to a violent assault in which he stabbed a victim three times in the back without provocation.

According to court documents, April 19, 2025, Matthew David Charley, 30, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, stabbed John Doe three times in the back without provocation, causing serious injury.

Charley pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon. At sentencing, Charley faces up to 10 years in prison.

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

Reasonable Malpractice Reform Benefits Every New Mexican

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By DAYMON ELY
Attorney
Former New Mexico Representative

At its heart, the debate over medical malpractice reform is not about trial lawyers or corporate profits – it is about our most basic values. Every New Mexican deserves access to quality health care. And every New Mexican deserves justice when that care falls tragically short.

Medical malpractice is rare. Fewer than 1% of medical providers are responsible for the vast majority of malpractice claims, but when tragedy strikes and a patient is harmed or killed, that patient or their family needs to know that they can get justice in a Read More

County Employee Charged In Death Of Taos Man

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Staff Report

Los Alamos County Facilities Manager Vicente Martinez, date of birth (DOB) 1980, has been charged with five criminal counts in an incident in Ranchos De Taos that resulted in great bodily injury to Adelio Issac Fernandez, DOB 1970, and the death of his brother Abraham Fernandez, DOB 1972.

Martinez is facing the following:

  • Count #1 – Murder in the 1st degree (willful and deliberate);
  • Count #2 – Aggravated battery (use of a deadly weapon);
  • Count #3 – Aggravated battery (use of a deadly weapon);
  • Count #4 – Aggravated assault (use of a deadly weapon); and
  • Count #5 – Aggravated assault (use
Read More

Only Bail Proposal Of Session Shot Down In ‘Kill Committee’

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A view of the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Post file photo

By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican

A proposal to overhaul pretrial release in New Mexico—the only such measure introduced so far in the 30-day session, despite it being a much-discussed topic—is being held captive in committee.

The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee, known as the “kill committee” due to its reputation for voting down Republican bills, tabled a proposed constitutional amendment Thursday to ask voters whether judges should be given more leeway in deciding if a criminal defendant needs to be held behind bars. Read More

New Mexico Medical Society Addresses HB 99

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From the New Mexico Medical Society:

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Medical Society (NMMS) is encouraged that HB 99 has advanced out of the House Health & Human Services Committee, reflecting bipartisan recognition that New Mexico must act to stabilize access to healthcare and address the growing physician shortage.

At the same time, the Medical Society is deeply concerned about an amendment adopted in committee that leaves a considerable number of healthcare organizations exposed to uncapped punitive damages.

Protecting access to care requires a coherent and consistent medical liability Read More