{"id":2269,"date":"2007-09-21T16:22:00","date_gmt":"2007-09-21T22:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/09\/shackling-controversy-erupts-before-robles-interview\/"},"modified":"2007-09-21T16:22:00","modified_gmt":"2007-09-21T22:22:00","slug":"shackling-controversy-erupts-before-robles-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/09\/shackling-controversy-erupts-before-robles-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Shackling controversy erupts before Robles’ interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Days before he is to interview for a spot on the New Mexico Supreme Court<\/a>, Robert E. Robles, chief judge of the Third Judicial District Court<\/a> in Do\u00f1a Ana County, finds himself in the middle of a controversy over whether juveniles should be shackled in courtrooms. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a chance Robles will be asked to explain the situation to the committee that will interview him for a spot on the state\u2019s high court on Monday.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The current policy requires that juvenile detainees remain shackled. Earlier this week Robles issued a new order, effective Oct. 1, requiring that juveniles be unshackled in courtrooms unless prosecutors get approval from the judge to keep a detainee shackled during proceedings.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A judge can only grant such an order if there are \u201cspecific, factual allegations sufficient to establish reasonable grounds to believe that the child, if not restrained, will pose a particular threat to the safety of himself or others in the courtroom,\u201d according to Robles\u2019 order. Read Page 1 by clicking here<\/a> and Page 2 here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The move comes as a Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> public defender, Rory Rank, has a pending request before the state Supreme Court to require that juveniles be unshackled during transport and in courtrooms. Robles\u2019 order was co-signed by Children\u2019s Court Judges Lisa Schultz and Fernando Macias, who pushed for the change, but has drawn the anger and disappointment of some law enforcement officials.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\n

Shackling juveniles has been a hot topic in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> since Schultz ordered several months ago that a juvenile prisoner be unshackled in her courtroom.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Order draws criticism<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The two Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> members of the judicial nominating commission<\/a> that will interview Robles and 14 other applicants for the Supreme Court vacancy on Monday aren\u2019t fans of Robles\u2019 order. One, Deputy District Attorney Amy Orlando, opposes the order. The other, local developer Edgar Lopez, said he has concerns about the order and wouldn\u2019t want juveniles \u2013 even those who are members of his family \u2013 unshackled in a courtroom.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Robles\u2019 order also drew sharp criticism in today\u2019s Las Cruces Sun-News<\/a> from Do\u00f1a Ana County Undersheriff Chuck Franco. Franco said the department will seek legislation in January that would allow the sheriff to stop providing security at the court.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s obvious that (the judges) have now become experts in security,\u201d Franco told the newspaper. \u201cIn spite of what we tell them, they choose to do what they please.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Though state law doesn\u2019t explicitly require that counties provide district court security, a 1979 attorney general opinion said they must, the Sun-News reported.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In an interview, Robles acknowledged the timing of the controversy just before his interview, but said he did what he believes is right.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it takes a little bit of courage to be a judge, and when the right thing has to be done, you do the right thing,\u201d Robles said. \u201cI believe that the people of Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> and the Third Judicial District elected me to ensure that the rule of law is followed and that\u2019s what I\u2019m doing. The timing is the timing and that can\u2019t be helped.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Dignity versus security<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Rank recently told USA Today<\/a> that there is a difference between adult and juvenile prisoners that should be acknowledged with the unshackling of children. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThe purpose of children\u2019s court is to rehabilitate, protect and take care of children,\u201d Rank told the newspaper. \u201cIf they\u2019re treated with dignity in that courtroom, I think it has a lasting effect on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The concern of the sheriff\u2019s department, on the other hand, is that it doesn\u2019t have the funding to provide the security required to ensure the safety of those in courtrooms when juveniles are unshackled. Many of the department\u2019s court security personnel aren\u2019t certified law-enforcement officers, and they aren\u2019t paid nearly as much as the deputies who patrol the streets.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In addition, the county can be held liable if something goes wrong, even though a state judge is ordering the change.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Lopez, one of 15 members of the commission, said he\u2019s concerned about Robles\u2019 ruling. Lopez is an influential Democrat who has the ear of the governor and, apparently, the speaker of the House, who appointed him to the commission. He is also close to District Attorney Susana Martinez.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Lopez said his biggest concern is security at the courthouse, and noted that the deputies who work there are paid little. With that in mind, Lopez asked, \u201cHow would you like to unshackle a juvenile in a courtroom and let him loose?\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s interview<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a chance Robles will be asked about the situation during his interview on Monday, which is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in Santa Fe<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>. The commission is scheduled to hold a closed session at the end of the day to select the candidates it will recommend to the governor.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The governor must make an appointment from among those recommended by the commission. If he doesn\u2019t like his choices, he\u2019s allowed \u2013 once \u2013 to ask the committee to meet again and consider whether it can recommend any other candidates from the original pool of applicants.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Lopez said he\u2019s honored to be on the commission and will represent Southern New Mexico<\/st1:place> well. He said he wanted to thank House Speaker Ben Lujan<\/a> \u201cfor the consideration to put someone from Southern New Mexico<\/st1:place> on the commission.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Days before he is to interview for a spot on the New Mexico Supreme Court, Robert E. Robles, chief judge of the Third Judicial District Court in Do\u00f1a Ana County, finds himself in the middle of a controversy over whether juveniles should be shackled in courtrooms. There\u2019s a chance Robles will be asked to explain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}