For many in
The pre-Brennan era ended on a fateful night in May 2004 when John Brennan, then the chief judge of the Second Judicial District Court in
The event was a catalyst that triggered a new era in which the Supreme Court cracked down on misbehaving judges and provided confidential help for those who voluntarily sought treatment for substance abuse and other problems. In addition, the Legislature and governor doubled the funding for the Judicial Standards Commission, the state board charged with investigating allegations of judicial misconduct and making recommendations for discipline to the high court.
As a result more than 10 judges, including four from
Just last week, the Supreme Court went beyond the recommended suspension the commission sought in the case of one Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court judge and instead removed him from the bench. The court said a suspension wasn’t enough after J. Wayne Griego fixed 24 traffic tickets for family members, friends and relatives of staff members over a three-year period.
Strong action by the high court in cases like that against Griego has helped restore the integrity of the state’s judiciary.
There have been several scandals in recent years that should have served as a similarly catalytic event for the state’s legislative and executive branches. The previous two state treasurers have been convicted of felonies, Michael Montoya for extortion and Robert Vigil for attempted extortion. The former deputy state insurance superintendent has been convicted on multiple felony counts for extortion and other crimes.
The former president of the state senate and others are under federal indictment for allegedly bilking taxpayers out of $4.2 million that was to be spent on the new metro court in
And the wife of a state representative and others are facing fraud and other felony charges for allegedly misusing public money when they worked for a school district in Las Vegas – some of it money her lawmaker husband had secured from state coffers.
Restoring integrity takes courage and humility
Unfortunately, the other branches haven’t followed the lead of the judiciary in cleaning up government in
Gov. Bill Richardson has made some attempts to push reform, including the formation of two task forces to study, propose and help build consensus behind several proposals. But he basically ignored ethics reform during the 2008 legislative session, focusing instead on issues that would garner more national attention like universal health care.
A number of legislators have devoted a great deal of time to pushing reforms including the enactment of campaign contribution limits, the creation of a state ethics commission and the opening of legislative conference committees to the public, but the majority of their peers have rejected the proposals.
Calls for ethics reform have been drowned out by defenders of the status quo. As a result, in the eyes of most New Mexicans, the executive and legislative branches of state government are currently operating without integrity. Polls have shown that the vast majority of New Mexicans want the ethics reforms that the Legislature has now repeatedly failed to enact.
The Supreme Court deserves praise for responding to scandal it could have shoved under the rug by instead actively policing the judiciary and rooting out incompetence and corruption. That took courage and humility. If
A version of this article was published today on the Diary of a Mad Voter blog published by the Denver Post’s Politics West and the independent Web site NewWest.net.