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Front Page
opinion editorials
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Endorsements for Metropolitan Court
DIVISION 6 — Dominguez: The removal of a Metropolitan Court judge on the cusp of the Democratic primary triggered a stampede of candidates for the criminal division seat. In a six-way race with some very solid candidates, Maria Dominguez stands out.
Dominguez's name was the only one recommended to Gov. Bill Richardson by the Judicial Nominating Commission. Richardson objected to the too-short list, and asked the panel to send up more candidates for his appointment to the seat. Meanwhile, the electoral process is rolling toward voters' June 3 decision on filling the seat. There are no Republican candidates; winner of this primary takes the seat.
The Taos County native graduated from New Mexico Military Institute, earned a political science degree at Highlands and a law degree at the University of New Mexico. She started right in on courtroom work at the Public Defenders Office, quickly moving from misdemeanor to felony cases, up to supervising other lawyers and on to handling appeals. That range of experience thoroughly grounds her in case law, rules of evidence, uniform jury instructions and Metro Court rules, Dominguez says.
After almost eight years with the PD, she joined the Albuquerque City Attorney's Office, litigating civil rights and employment cases and working with the Safe City Strike Force. Since the birth of a son, Dominguez has built a private practice that includes contract work as a hearing officer for the state Environment Department and the city, not a bad prelude to a position on the bench. Extracurricular activities during her career include serving on the board of the New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association.
The Journal seconds the nominating commission's first recommendation: Bernalillo County voters should put Maria Dominguez on their short list for the Division 6 seat on Metro Court.
DIVISION 10 — DeMersseman: The Journal endorses Metropolitan Court Judge Clyde DeMersseman in the June 3 Democratic primary. The winner faces no GOP opposition in the November general election.
DeMersseman says he's handled around 20,000 cases in his two stints on that bench. And while Metro judges are required to mete out a high volume of justice, DeMersseman has demonstrated that a busy docket doesn't preclude a judicious weighing of the law and the facts.
Last month DeMersseman presided over the emotionally charged jury trial of a veteran who pulled down and tore a Mexican flag flying at the University of New Mexico in violation of protocol. Given the jury's guilty verdict, DeMersseman handed down a sentence of probation, community service and anger management that balanced the crime of property damage with the defendant's service to country.
That kind of care shows DeMersseman has a temperament well suited to the busy court. As does the fact he was able to handle his docket on the move — he wasn't assigned a courtroom for the first six months of his current term.
DeMersseman has twice been vetted by the Judicial Nominating Commission and appointed to Metro Court — first in 2005, where he failed to retain his seat in his first general election a year later, then again last year. He's been a prosecutor, private litigator and law professor, and his “bosses” over at the Supreme Court have trusted him to serve on the Metro Court Rules Committee since 2006.
Judge Clyde DeMersseman has the solid, proven experience voters need on the bench. The Journal recommends voters keep him there in Division 10.
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