{"id":667855,"date":"2019-01-14T08:00:32","date_gmt":"2019-01-14T15:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=667855"},"modified":"2019-01-14T09:47:18","modified_gmt":"2019-01-14T16:47:18","slug":"session-could-bring-new-direction-money-for-criminal-justice-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2019\/01\/session-could-bring-new-direction-money-for-criminal-justice-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Session could bring new direction, money for criminal justice system"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_405938\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-405938\" src=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Roundhouse-1-771x471.jpg\" alt=\"Roundhouse\" width=\"771\" height=\"471\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Roundhouse-1-771x471.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Roundhouse-1-336x205.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Roundhouse-1-768x469.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Roundhouse-1-1170x714.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Roundhouse-1.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Heath Haussamen \/ NMPolitics.net<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Roundhouse in Santa Fe.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Lawmakers are hopeful that 2019 brings an opportunity to significantly overhaul major parts of the New Mexico criminal justice system after what one key state senator called a \u201clost decade\u201d that saw myriad ideas but scant action.<\/p>\n<p>Bills are expected to address chronically high crime rates across the state, with a focus on speedier justice in cases involving violence and more lifeboats for people whose lesser crimes have saddled them with the stigma of a criminal record.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s talk of a massive \u201comnibus\u201d bill that would feature changes to New Mexico\u2019s probation and parole systems, reparations for crime victims, the way law enforcement uses eyewitness testimony to seek convictions and several other laws.<\/p>\n<p>Then there are the reforms that, in years past, have found support from both political parties but ultimately met the veto pen of Gov. Susana Martinez, a former prosecutor who for eight years stuck to her belief that New Mexico needed tougher penalties for lawbreakers, but largely stiff-armed proposals to address systemic injustices.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article comes from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmindepth.com\/2019\/01\/12\/new-direction-and-infusion-of-money-seen-for-criminal-justice-system\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Mexico In Depth<\/a>. Sign up for\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmindepth.us6.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=1d2ab093d81b992e50978b363&amp;id=9294743d38\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Those shifts \u2014 likely to be proposed in individual bills \u2014 would include limiting the use of solitary confinement in the state\u2019s prisons and jails, creating a pathway for some offenders to have their criminal records wiped clean after a period of time and prohibiting private-sector employers from inquiring about job applicants\u2019 past convictions in most instances.<\/p>\n<p>House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, says lawmakers even plan to propose a bill that would decriminalize personal possession of small amounts of all drugs in New Mexico. That would include drugs such as heroin and cocaine.<\/p>\n<p>The reform discussion has been percolating against a backdrop of legislators\u2019 deep dives into how other states have codified a shift in criminal justice thinking and, perhaps more importantly, $1 billion-plus in \u201cnew money\u201d \u2014 the largest surplus to flood the Roundhouse in years.<\/p>\n<p>Further, Democrats gained eight seats in the state House, increasing their majority, while maintaining their majority in the Senate. Senators were not up for election in 2018. Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham won at the polls, too, flipping the governor\u2019s mansion from Republican to Democratic control.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s such a refreshing and hopeful place to be, because this really has been a lost decade for our state on criminal justice,\u201d said Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe. \u201cWe have new leadership now that wants to work with all sides to keep our state safe and to address what causes many crimes in the first place. And we have the money to do at least some of it. We\u2019re starting from a huge position of strength we haven\u2019t seen since 2007 or 2008.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Just two years ago, Wirth, an attorney, warned in an interview with NMID that the state was \u201con the tipping point of a constitutional crisis.\u201d He pointed to chronic underfunding for the courts, prosecutors, public defenders and treatment for people living with drug addiction and mental illness who had been caught up in the system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most pressing criminal justice issue right now is having a court system that\u2019s able to address the laws that we\u2019ve asked them to enforce,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Nothing gets done before we attend to that.\u201d<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>New Mexico\u2019s judges are the lowest paid in the nation, according to the National Center for State Courts. In 2016, the state\u2019s chief public defender was held in contempt of court after he told a judge his office couldn\u2019t take on any more new cases if it was to fulfill its constitutional obligation to provide an adequate defense. And district attorneys across New Mexico have struggled keeping staff due to what they pay.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Antonio \u201cMoe\u201d Maestas, D-Albuquerque, told NMID he expects to see increases for all three proverbial \u201clegs of the stool\u201d holding up New Mexico\u2019s criminal justice system.<\/p>\n<p>But he cautions that legislators shouldn\u2019t eye changes in criminal justice without considering the state\u2019s behavioral health system in the same conversations. That\u2019s because drug addiction, poverty and mental illness often sit at or just below the surface when someone commits a crime.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s maybe where we don\u2019t get all we want\u201d in terms of budget hikes for new treatment centers, more social workers and incentives for behavioral health providers to grow and expand,\u201d Maestas said. \u201cWith behavioral health, it\u2019s a very steep climb. The (former) governor dismantled an already fragile system \u2014 she didn\u2019t need to do that, but she did. It will take time to rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, Maestas, who co-chairs the Legislature\u2019s Courts, Corrections and Justice subcommittee with Republican Sen. Sander Rue, said the subcommittee has been working with the nonprofit Council of State Governments to identify funding priorities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have information from other states. We have some data now,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat\u2019s great about these criminal justice proposals I expect to see is that they will actually save money in both the short and the long term. And bigger picture, we know that every dollar we put into behavioral health saves $2 in criminal justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It may not be quite so simple, however, with powerful fiscal conservatives from both parties calling for saving a large portion of the surplus rather than going on a spending spree.<\/p>\n<p>But New Mexico has not just bucked the national trend in decreasing crime rates. This state also has lagged behind others in how well its criminal justice system functions. That means advocates for reform on issues like education and economic development will be competing for large shares of the \u201cnew money\u201d that has come courtesy of an oil boom in the Permian Basin.<\/p>\n<p>Fully funding the state\u2019s education system, in addition to being a well identified, long-standing problem in New Mexico, is also now a judicial mandate after the state lost a seminal lawsuit earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>Maestas pegs infusing schools with the money they need as the Legislature\u2019s No. 1 priority during the session. He puts criminal justice reform at No. 2.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut because the pie is so much bigger than it has been in years, we don\u2019t really have to fight over it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not competing interests anymore; it\u2019s ensuring that each dollar is well spent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maestas and Wirth said the fickle nature of the oil and gas industry should give legislators at least some pause as they decide what to do with the surplus. But they see the debate shifting from savings vs. spending to how much money should be dedicated for one-time fixes on issues like crime reduction vs. recurring spending on judicial salaries and more.<\/p>\n<p>Maestas said the one-time money should go toward staffing at some of the state\u2019s smaller law enforcement agencies, software integration that would help criminal justice agencies communicate better with one another and tools to collect criminal justice related data.<\/p>\n<p>Missing from the debate this year, Maestas said, will be familiar, pet issues Martinez and her supporters in the Legislature pushed for years. Those include bringing back the death penalty for certain crimes, beefing up the state\u2019s \u201cthree-strikes\u201d law and ratcheting up penalties for a wide range of crimes.<\/p>\n<p>But he said the Legislature is likely to significantly overhaul the state\u2019s criminal code \u2014 including by increasing penalties for some crimes \u2014 during next year\u2019s 30-day session.<\/p>\n<p>It appears criminal justice reform legislation on the radar for this year has some support from Republicans, not just the majority Democrats. Bipartisanship, Wirth said, should help at least some bills get passed relatively quickly during the session.<\/p>\n<p>Legislators from both parties also recognize the need to slash crime rates around the state, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt really does feel like the focus is finally where it should be: getting dangerous people locked up quickly, getting treatment for people who need it and ensuring we\u2019re allocating money where it will do the most good long-term,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lawmakers are hopeful that 2019 brings an opportunity to significantly overhaul major parts of the New Mexico criminal justice system after what one key state senator called a &#8216;lost decade&#8217; that saw myriad ideas but scant action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":405938,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[3671,142,161,203,107],"class_list":["post-667855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2019-legislative-session","tag-crime","tag-judiciary","tag-law-enforcement","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667855","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=667855"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":667862,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667855\/revisions\/667862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=667855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=667855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=667855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}