Remove Cloak of Secrecy That Covers Alleged Misconduct of Judges

Remove Cloak of Secrecy That Covers Alleged Misconduct of Judges

Santa Fe – The cloak of secrecy that covers the alleged misconduct of New Mexico judges would be thrown off if a Senate Joint Resolution sponsored by Senator Sander Rue is able to be presented to the public and passes in the next general election.

Senator Rue said New Mexico judges should be held to the same ethical standards of other elected officials. He said their alleged misconduct should be made public as soon as probable cause is determined after an investigation into misconduct and as soon as a hearing is ordered.

Currently, any charges of judicial misconduct and an investigation resulting in probable cause is kept confidential by the Judicial Standards Commission of the Courts. That information is not made public until after the conclusion of a hearing by Judicial Standards Commission and its opinion is forwarded to the State Supreme Court for review and approval.

“More openness when dealing with misconduct of our judges will be required by my bill. Currently, when someone files a complaint, I feel that complaint needs to be made public as soon as Judicial Standards has done an investigation and has determined there needs to be a hearing before the Judicial Standards Commission. Waiting until the hearing is concluded is too late. The process now is cloaked in secrecy. The public needs a chance to change that,” Senator Sander Rue said.