<\/p>\n
At least one registered independent who is an attorney plans to enter the magistrate judge race in Do\u00f1a Ana County that could be without any major party candidates.<\/p>\n
Beverly Singleman, a former Democrat and former Court of Appeals judge, told NMPolitics.net she has applied for the vacancy created by last year\u2019s resignation of Democrat Olivia Nevarez Garcia<\/a>. Singleman said she also plans to run as an independent in the November election.<\/p>\n As NMPolitics.net reported last week<\/a>, Do\u00f1a Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins<\/a> has disqualified both Democrats who filed to run for the judgeship because neither is an attorney and, for the first time, the county\u2019s population is over the 200,000 threshold that triggers a state law that requires magistrate judges to be attorneys.<\/p>\n At least one of those Democrats says he plans to challenge Ellins\u2019 decision and the law. No Republicans filed to run for the seat.<\/p>\n Gov. Susana Martinez<\/a> has yet to fill the vacancy on the court, which Singleman and others applied for months ago. Singleman said she was \u201cpre-interviewed\u201d by Martinez\u2019s staff late last month.<\/p>\n Regardless of Martinez\u2019s pending appointment, the seat will be up for election in November. Because the filing deadline to run in the Democratic and Republican primaries has passed, whoever Martinez appoints won\u2019t be able to get on the ballot as a major party candidate unless he or she files as a write-in candidate in June.<\/p>\n Also in June, the judge Martinez appoints could file to run as a minor-party candidate or as an independent, as Singleman plans to do.<\/p>\n Singleman is a witness at the center of the bribery case against former Third Judicial District Judge Mike Murphy, who resigned from the bench<\/a> in February. Murphy\u2019s bribery trial had been scheduled for early February, but a judge has put the case on hold while the Court of Appeals considers whether to reinstate a misdemeanor charge of violating the Governmental Conduct Act.<\/p>\n Murphy currently faces felony charges stemming from two cases. His\u00a0May indictment\u00a0on four felony charges is based on allegations that he\u00a0solicited a bribe\u00a0from Singleman, who was considering applying for an open judgeship; that he told Judge Lisa Schultz to tell Singleman she needed to pay the bribe; and that he threatened to destroy Singleman\u2019s reputation for telling others that he solicited a bribe from her.<\/p>\n Separate from that indictment, Murphy faces\u00a0another felony charge\u00a0for allegedly\u00a0offering \u201cseveral promises\u201d\u00a0to Schultz in December 2010 if she would agree to be the tie-breaking vote to make Douglas R. Driggers the chief district judge in Las Cruces.<\/p>\nSingleman at center of case against Judge Murphy<\/h3>\n