The presiding judge of the Las Cruces Municipal Court is apparently seeking re-election on Nov. 6.
Melissa Miller-Byrnes’ campaign signs began appearing around
Miller-Byrnes hasn’t responded to a recent voice mail left on her office phone asking whether she would seek re-election. An announcement of her candidacy hasn’t been submitted to this site or published in local newspapers. Tuesday is filing day.
She’s being challenged by Conrad F. Perea, a private-practice attorney who was a police officer in
The court’s presiding judge, in addition to hearing cases, is responsible for supervision of court personnel and docket management and setting policies and procedures. The judge also administers the drug court program.
Miller-Byrnes defeated then-city prosecutor Richard Jacquez in 2003 in a landslide, 68-32 percent, but she has faced controversy during her current term. The state Supreme Court reprimanded her in 2004 after she falsely stated during a radio interview that no complaints had been filed against her with the Judicial Standards Commission. She was also chastised by the court in 2006 for calling Jacquez a “smart ass” during a 2004 interview with a newspaper reporter, but the court did not issue a formal reprimand in that instance.
That comment was part of a dispute between the municipal judges and city attorney’s office that exploded in 2004 when the city’s two judges wrote a letter to the Las Cruces Sun-News alleging incompetence by police and prosecutors.
After the letter and Miller-Byrnes’ separate comment about the prosecutor were published, the city attorney’s office filed a complaint with the commission, which asked the high court to discipline the judges. The court dismissed the complaint related to the letter, but chastised Miller-Byrnes for the “smart ass” comment.
A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that Miller-Byrnes had been twice disciplined by the Supreme Court.