Santa Fe Hires New Public Defender

The city of Santa Fe has hired Elena Cardona as its new Municipal Court public defender.

Cardona most recently worked for the New Mexico Public Defender handling felony cases. Her resume also includes stints working for private firms and in the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law in 1985, and moved to New Mexico in 2002.

She starts work on Nov. 1, and will earn an annual salary of $73,000.

Cardona’s hiring follows the somewhat unexpected decision by the City Council in August to hire a staff public defender instead of contracting for legal services.

Previously, Bea Castellano Lockhart held the public defender contract for over 25 years. Nobody at the city disparaged the work of Castellano Lockhart, but councilors said that a permanent public defender would probably be a “better bargain” for the city and provide the busy court with more lawyer hours.

Castellano Lockhart earned $72,000 a year for 15 hours of work a week, but didn’t receive benefits, which can cost the city as much as $16,000 annually for an employee in Cardona’s position.