A federal judge has tossed out most of the complaints stated in a lawsuit alleging that former Doña Ana County Sheriff Juan Hernandez and others rigged the hiring and promotion system to benefit his friends and punish his enemies.
In tossing out all complaints made by former Undersheriff Frank Ruiz and most made by another former employee of the sheriff’s department, Annette Apodaca Jones, U.S. District Judge Bruce D. Black ruled that almost all the complaints in the case didn’t meet the legal standards required to proceed.
He also dismissed a request to make the case a class-action lawsuit and allow other plaintiffs to join. All that remains is a breach-of-contract claim made by Jones.
“The ruling speaks for itself, and now we move on to other important matters that demand the county’s attention,” county spokesman Jess Williams said.
You can read Black’s ruling by clicking here.
The lawsuit was filed in August 2005, several months after Hernandez resigned because he was hampered by an unusual form of dementia. The lawsuit was preceded by several grievances filed by employees of the department against Hernandez alleging favoritism, harassment and retaliation.
Among other claims, Ruiz alleged in the lawsuit that Hernandez violated his First Amendment rights by lobbying the commission, after he resigned, to not appoint Ruiz sheriff. Hernandez instead supported applicant Mark Perea, a sergeant in the department. The commission appointed current Sheriff Todd Garrison.
Black ruled that Hernandez was a private citizen who had his own First Amendment right to petition the government.
“Defendant Hernandez simply lobbied the board to reject Ruiz as a candidate and appoint someone else as sheriff, and that is exactly what happened,” Black wrote in his ruling. “Ruiz cannot base his own First Amendment claim against Hernandez on Hernandez’s own exercise of his First-Amendment right.”
The lawsuit listed 17 actions of favoritism as examples. What’s left is Jones’ claim that she was denied a promotion when a county human resources employee leaked test questions to Hernandez so he could provide them to a friend who had applied for the same job.
The test score was one determining factor in who was hired for the job.
Following that, Jones claims, Hernandez blocked any chance she had for promotion.
The case was originally filed in state district court, and has been delayed by the transition to federal court. Hernandez and other county officials remain defendants.