{"id":26223,"date":"2011-02-17T23:39:25","date_gmt":"2011-02-18T06:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=26223"},"modified":"2011-02-18T11:15:19","modified_gmt":"2011-02-18T18:15:19","slug":"robles-apologizes-for-%e2%80%98egregious-error%e2%80%99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/02\/robles-apologizes-for-%e2%80%98egregious-error%e2%80%99\/","title":{"rendered":"Robles apologizes for \u2018egregious error\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Judge Robert E. Robles<\/p><\/div>\n

Judge says he hopes apology is taken as a sign of his \u2018commitment to do my best to restore your confidence in me as your public servant\u2019<\/h4>\n

Following his Wednesday drunken driving arrest, N.M. Court of Appeals Judge Robert E. Robles is apologizing for \u201can egregious error in judgment\u201d and says he hopes his apology is \u201cthe first indication of my profound remorse\u201d and \u201ccomplete acceptance of my actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge also said in a prepared statement released Thursday that he hoped the citizens of New Mexico take his apology as a sign of his \u201ccommitment to do my best to restore your confidence in me as your public servant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robles didn\u2019t specifically mention the fact that he was arrested early Wednesday<\/a> on charges of aggravated drunken driving and reckless driving, instead apologizing for his \u201crecent personal actions.\u201d He said he is \u201cseeking professional help to assist me in addressing personal issues which resulted in my inappropriate behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robles was arrested in Albuquerque just after 1 a.m. Wednesday after reportedly running a red light at 50 mph and nearly crashing his car into a police officer\u2019s vehicle. Police say he had a breath-alcohol concentration of .20, nearly 2.5 times the legal limit.<\/p>\n

Robles is scheduled to be arraigned March 3 on the misdemeanor charges. His statement gave no indication of what plea he will enter.<\/p>\n

Though some are calling for Robles\u2019 resignation, his statement appears to indicate that he plans to stay in the job and try to earn back the trust of voters who elected him in November.<\/p>\n

In addition to saying he hoped his apology would be taken as the first indication of his commitment to earn back that trust, he also pointed out that he voluntarily placed himself on unpaid administrative leave and reported himself to the Judicial Standards Commission. That board will investigate his actions and could recommend discipline \u2013 or even Robles\u2019 removal \u2013 to the state Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

In his statement, Robles gave no explanation for his actions beyond the reference to seeking \u201cprofessional help.\u201d He told police he was \u201cjust circling around\u201d before he was pulled over, and he called it a \u201csad and lonely night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018What will it take?\u2019<\/h3>\n

The head of the state\u2019s DWI Resource Center wants Robles to resign, The Associated Press is reporting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Linda Atkinson was quoted by the news service as saying judges need to be held to a higher standard because of the public trust their job requires.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand why people, including judges of all people, have to get into a vehicle after drinking,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026What will it take \u2013 that we hear a judge has killed someone in a DWI?\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Lora Lee Ortiz, head of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving New Mexico chapter, was quoted by the AP as saying the group is \u201csatisfied with Robles\u2019 unpaid leave of absence since he has not gone to trial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other judges have left the bench in recent years because of incidents involving drunken driving. From the AP:<\/p>\n

\u201cChief Judge Thomas Fitch of Socorro pleaded guilty to drunken driving and other charges in 2005 after he rolled a state-owned van into a ditch. John Brennan, chief judge in Bernalillo County, pleaded guilty to aggravated DWI and cocaine possession in 2004. Two years earlier, Judge Thomas Cornish of Las Cruces resigned after pleading guilty to DWI.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Robles\u2019 full statement<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s Robles\u2019 full statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cI sincerely apologize to my family, to the citizens of\u00a0New Mexico, to\u00a0the members of the New Mexico\u00a0Court of Appeals\u00a0and to the entire\u00a0New Mexico judiciary\u00a0for my recent personal actions. I made an\u00a0egregious error in judgment\u00a0that resulted in painful consequences to those who place their trust in me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the support of my family, I am seeking professional help to assist me in addressing personal issues which resulted in my\u00a0inappropriate behavior. I hope to mend, as best as I can, the pain that I have caused my family, friends and colleagues, in accepting the consequences of my actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI voluntarily placed myself on administrative leave without pay from my position on the New Mexico Court of Appeals and reported the incident to the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission, which will review my actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ask the citizens of New Mexico to consider this apology as only the first indication of my profound remorse, complete acceptance of my actions, and commitment to do my best to restore your confidence in me as your public servant.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following his Wednesday drunken driving arrest, N.M. Court of Appeals Judge Robert E. Robles is apologizing for \u201can egregious error in judgment\u201d and says he hopes his apology is \u201cthe first indication of my profound remorse\u201d and \u201ccomplete acceptance of my actions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[142,161],"class_list":["post-26223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-crime","tag-judiciary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26223","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=26223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26223\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}