The New Mexico Supreme Court has been asked to force Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Carlos Garza to submit to a drug test while the commission investigates allegations that he may be using drugs.
Garza is already on suspension with pay until November while the Judicial Standards Commission investigates serious allegations against him. The details of those allegations aren’t known because that file has been sealed.
The commission filed a new petition Wednesday asking the court to strip the pay from Garza’s suspension, order him to submit to a drug test, and demand that he explain why he has refused a drug test. The commission does have powers related to obtaining judges’ medical records, but whether they apply to forcing drug tests may be an untested area of law.
Reached by telephone, Garza said he had not heard about the new petition and denied using drugs.
“That’s not true,” Garza said.
The filing states that Garza failed to meet a captain from the New Mexico State Police for a drug test on Friday. It also contains an affidavit from an employee of Magistrate Court who says that she and another court employee one on occasion saw Garza at work with “white powder” on his nostrils” and acting “extremely hyperactive.” She says that, in recent months, Garza’s behavior has become “erratic,” that he is “paranoid all the time,” and that he has a reputation as a “party animal” and “associates with known drug users.”
The massive filing with the court contains other affidavits. I’ll have a more in-depth look at the situation later today.
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