Supreme Court rejects Gallup DA's attempt to halt defunding of office

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court has rejected the McKinley County district attorney’s attempt to halt the defunding of her office, which took effect this week.

The decision by the state’s highest court to deny a petition filed by Gallup-based District Attorney Bernadine Martin leaves criminal cases in McKinley County in legal limbo — at least for now.

That’s because a $10.8 billion budget bill that took effect on Tuesday, the official start of the state’s new fiscal year, does not provide base funding for Martin’s office.

Instead, it provides $1.9 million for the district attorney in neighboring San Juan County to prosecute cases in McKinley County. It also earmarks an additional $1.9 million for contract attorneys to be hired in the district.

San Juan County District Attorney Jack Fortner said Thursday he attempted to meet with staffers in Martin’s office this week to go over training and other issues but was rebuffed.

“I told her, ‘I’m available, I’ll work with you,’” Fortner told the Journal.

He also said the current situation puts residents of McKinley County at risk, as Martin is still authorized to assign criminal cases in the county but does not have legal access to funding to pay her staff.

The Supreme Court order was issued Wednesday without oral arguments being held and without a detailed explanation. It came after two Supreme Court justices — David Thomson and Shannon Bacon — recused themselves from the case.

Prior to the order, the New Mexico District Attorney Association filed a brief in the case siding with Martin, who argued the Legislature’s vote to defund her office was an unconstitutional overstep that violated her rights as an elected official.

“While it is the prerogative of the Legislature to fashion the budget, our Constitution prohibits the use of that power as a cudgel to affect policy change or to relieve an elected official of his or her duties,” Santa Fe attorney Scott Fuqua wrote on behalf of the district attorney group.

However, Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has insisted defunding Martin’s office was the only way to ensure criminal cases move forward, citing high case loads and low prosecution rates in recent years.

He also said he was approached by judges, other prosecutors and Chief Public Defender Ben Baur about the situation and Martin’s management of the District Attorney’s Office.

In addition, Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s office is investigating Martin’s conduct at the request of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who asked the agency to consider taking steps to remove the district attorney from office.

New Mexico Department of Justice Chief of Staff Lauren Rodriguez said Thursday the office was specifically investigating whether Martin’s conduct meets the standard of gross incompetence, which is necessary under state law to pursue such a removal.

“As with any investigation, she is entitled to due process, and we remain committed to upholding the rule of law,” Rodriguez said.

Martin, who is the state’s first female Navajo district attorney, was reelected last year as the top prosecutor for the second division of the 11th Judicial District. She said last month the defunding holds her “hostage” and prevents her from performing her elected duties.

She also said her office has 24 full-time employees, including investigators, victim advocates and administrative staff. But the office does not have any staff attorneys, as it instead relies on two outside contract attorneys to handle most cases.

The district attorney’s office had 2,822 assigned cases per attorney as of last year, according to the Legislative Finance Committee, which is easily the highest caseload on any prosecutor’s office statewide.