{"id":503,"date":"2006-08-24T16:50:00","date_gmt":"2006-08-24T22:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/08\/many-have-expressed-concern-in-recent-months-about-garzas-behavior-and-alleged-drug-use\/"},"modified":"2006-08-24T16:50:00","modified_gmt":"2006-08-24T22:50:00","slug":"many-have-expressed-concern-in-recent-months-about-garzas-behavior-and-alleged-drug-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/08\/many-have-expressed-concern-in-recent-months-about-garzas-behavior-and-alleged-drug-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Many have expressed concern in recent months about Garza’s behavior and alleged drug use"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Carlos Garza\u2019s future as a Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> magistrate judge may be in doubt after allegations that he intentionally violated an order from the Judicial Standards Commission requiring him to submit to a drug test. <\/p>\n

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

Wednesday\u2019s filing seeks Garza\u2019s immediate suspension with pay, an order from the high court that he undergo urine and hair tests for illegal drugs, and an order that he explain why he should not be held in contempt for refusing the commission\u2019s demand for the tests.<\/p>\n

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

The commission sought the tests because of allegations that Garza has been using illegal drugs for several months.<\/p>\n

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

Garza\u2019s problems are beginning to stack up. He is already on suspension with pay until Nov. 3 because of serious allegations related to five other, separate commission investigations into alleged misconduct. Details aren\u2019t known because that file has been sealed by the New Mexico Supreme Court. And he\u2019s on judicial probation stemming from an admission earlier this year that he improperly involved himself in a drunken driving case against a woman with whom he had a personal relationship.<\/p>\n

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

Garza is accused of \u201cknowingly and willfully failing to comply\u201d with an order from the commission that he submit to a drug test. On Aug. 17, according to the filing, the commission issued an order requiring Garza to undergo a physical examination, within 24 hours of his receipt of the order, to collect samples of hair and urine for drug testing, and to sign a form allowing the lab to release the results to the commission.<\/p>\n

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

Capt. Richard Williams of the New Mexico State Police arrived at Garza\u2019s home Friday morning to deliver the order from the commission. The door was answered by former Magistrate Judge Reuben Galvan, who resigned last year amid his own scandal. He told Williams he was living with Garza but that Garza was not home, the filing states.<\/p>\n

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

Williams was able to contact Garza by telephone, and Garza agreed to meet him to pick up the order. Garza failed to show up to the meeting and did not return phone calls after that, according to Williams\u2019 police report.<\/p>\n

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

While Williams was waiting to meet with Garza, Garza called the commission\u2019s director, Jim Noel, to ask what papers Williams was delivering to him. After Noel told him, Garza said he would meet Williams to pick up the order, and would submit to the drug tests that day, according to the filing.<\/p>\n

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

After Garza skipped their meeting, Williams drove to Garza\u2019s home. The car Garza told him he would be driving was parked out front, but no one answered the door, so Williams left the order taped to the front of the door.<\/p>\n

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

Garza later told Noel he missed the meeting because he \u201cleft town\u201d and did not return until Sunday, when he found the order on a table in his home.<\/p>\n

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

Garza did take a drug test, according to the filing. He visited a lab in Las Cruces to submit to a urine test, but not a hair test, \u201cand requested that\u2026 laboratory staff in Las Cruces withhold that information from the commission, so that he could pre-screen the results,\u201d according to the filing.<\/p>\n

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

The results of the urine test are not included in the filing. Hair tests examine a much longer time period.<\/p>\n

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

Garza \u201chas demonstrated an extreme lack of good judgment, disrupted the operations of the Do\u00f1a Ana County Magistrate Court, undermined the integrity and independence of the Do\u00f1a Ana County Magistrate Court as well as the judiciary as a whole, and has demonstrated a pattern of conduct that flies in the face of proper judicial decorum,\u201d the filing states.<\/p>\n

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

The filing was based on several affidavits and other documents:<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 An affidavit from Nicole Gonzales, a judicial manager at the magistrate court, states that in November 2005 she and Tina Ross, a former supervisor in the court, noticed that Garza had \u201cwhite powder under the rim of his nostrils.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Then, on Feb. 7, 2006, she and Melinda Gamboa, a judicial supervisor, saw \u201ca white powdery substance on the rim of Judge Garza\u2019s nose. He was extremely hyperactive that day,\u201d the affidavit states, adding that Garza\u2019s behavior in recent months \u201chas become increasingly erratic. He is paranoid all the time, and is of the opinion that everyone is out to get him. He has also been subject to frequent mood swings\u201d and \u201cis constantly up and down while on the bench; we cannot get him to stay on the bench. On June 27, 2006, for instance, in the middle of a sentencing, he just got up and left the bench.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cJudge Garza acts in a manner consistent with someone addicted to cocaine,\u201d Gonzales\u2019 affidavit states. \u201cHe has the reputation in the court of being a party guy, a real party animal. He has associated himself with individuals who are known drug users.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

She also states that five clerks in the court have requested that they not be assigned to work with Garza because of his \u201cerratic behavior and the increasing difficulties in working with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Gonzales reported Garza\u2019s alleged drug use to supervisors.<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 An affidavit from Gamboa backs up the story of the Feb. 7, 2006 incident told by Gonzales. It also states that Garza \u201chas been hyperactive and paranoid\u201d for several months \u201cand seems unable to focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

\u201cThe \u2018joke\u2019 around the courthouse is that Judge Garza is on crack because of his behavior and inability to deal with things at times,\u201d the affidavit states.<\/p>\n

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

Like Gonzales, Gamboa reported Garza\u2019s alleged drug use.<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 The Magistrate Advisory Committee of the Administrative Office of the Courts, whose members are five judges and former judges from around the state, met with Garza on Feb. 21, 2006 in response to concerns about \u201cJudge Garza\u2019s alleged drug use,\u201d according to a letter the committee wrote to the AOC director. The committee raised concerns in its letter that Garza \u201cappeared extremely nervous throughout the meeting\u201d and \u201cwas overly talkative \u2013 to the point that it was difficult for committee members to carry on dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

They also wrote that Garza was \u201copenly hostile to Judge Caleb Chandler (a member of the committee who is also assigned to oversee the Do\u00f1a Ana County Magistrate Court<\/st1:address><\/st1:street>) and was suspicious of the committee\u2019s motives,\u201d and that Garza \u201cappeared to have difficulty staying focused concerning the committee\u2019s questions and\/or comments.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Garza, according to the letter, said several times that he would take a drug test \u201canytime, anywhere,\u201d but when asked to do so that afternoon, said he would only do so after consulting with his attorney or sister Carmen Garza, who is now a federal magistrate judge. He was given an opportunity to call them, but returned to say he could not reach them, and a drug test was not arranged.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cAs one member of the committee put it, \u2018If a defendant appeared before me and behaved at arraignment like Judge Garza, I would order a 24-hour hold and detox,\u201d the letter states. \u201cIn fairness to Judge Garza, the committee also discussed the possibility that his behavior may be the result of Attention Deficit Disorder as opposed to drug use.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Garza told me this morning that the allegations of drug use are false and said he would speak with me later today, but he has not called back since. I\u2019ve offered him a chance to respond to these allegations. I\u2019ll let you know if he takes it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carlos Garza\u2019s future as a Do\u00f1a Ana County magistrate judge may be in doubt after allegations that he intentionally violated an order from the Judicial Standards Commission requiring him to submit to a drug test. Wednesday\u2019s filing seeks Garza\u2019s immediate suspension with pay, an order from the high court that he undergo urine and hair […]<\/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-503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503","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=503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}