Third Judicial District Judge Mike Murphy
A judge has denied the prosecutor’s request to move the bribery trial of District Judge Mike Murphy out of Doña Ana County.
That means Murphy’s trial remains scheduled to be held in Las Cruces and start Oct. 31.
Ninth Judicial District Attorney Matt Chandler filed the change of venue motion earlier this week. He argued that the case has received heavy media scrutiny, Murphy and most witnesses are elected officials in the county who are well-known, and Murphy’s attorney has made negative statements about the prosecution in public.
That wasn’t enough to convince the judge presiding over the case that an impartial jury can’t be found in Doña Ana County.
Murphy is on suspension without pay while he fights felony bribery charges and a misdemeanor charge of violating the state’s Governmental Conduct Act.
Prosecutors allege that Murphy solicited a bribe from potential judicial applicant Beverly Singleman, told District Judge Lisa Schultz to tell Singleman she needed to pay the bribe, and threatened to destroy Singleman’s reputation for telling others that he solicited a bribe from her.
Murphy has pleaded not guilty. No one else has been charged or received notice that they may be indicted in that case.
Murphy also faces a more recent felony bribery charge alleging that he offered to help defend District Judge Lisa Schultz against an investigation into an ethical complaint if she agreed to be the tie-breaking vote to make Douglas R. Driggers the chief judge in Las Cruces.
Chandler intends to join the two cases, so Murphy could face trial on all charges at once.
A prior version of this article incorrectly stated that Murphy is charged with paying a bribe for his position.