D.A.’s defends record as her office goes broke
By Babette Herrmann
Publisher
McKinley County’s beleaguered District Attorney Bernadine Martin made a rare public appearance at Courthouse Square to address allegations of incompetence and mishandling of criminal cases Aug. 5.
Martin and a colleague spent the better part of an hour defending her role and record of service to about 30 folks in attendance. She asked them for support as her office is set to run out of money by Aug. 12.
HOW WE GOT HERE
Back in April, a $10.8 billion budget bill was signed into law, which revoked funding for Martin’s office.
The accusations of incompetency within Martin’s office spurred an investigation from New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez. Funds intended for Martin’s office were instead given to the neighboring San Juan County D.A.’s office to handle the McKinley County’s caseload.
Since the fiscal year began July 1, Martin has reportedly funded her office with her own paychecks.
While it was difficult to hear Martin during the blustery, outdoor presentation, she stands firmly planted in her elected position, even as her well of funds run dry.
“We want to stay in McKinley County,” she told the crowd. “The voters voted for me for district attorney of this county.”
Martin claims that she sent the San Juan County’s District Attorney’s office a Memorandum of Understanding, twice, requesting funds to run her office, but they refused her request. She was also unsuccessful in tapping funds from the state’s Department of Finance.
SUPPORT & CRITICISM
Special Prosecutor JoHanna Cox, sitting left of Martin, contested the claims made by state officials that the D.A.’s office is soft on trying cases. She explained that the math isn’t adding up when it comes down to the caseloads each staff attorney carries.
“There is also a claim that each attorney has 2,800 cases. That is false,” she said. “ D.A. Martin’s office averages 1,500 to 1,800 cases a year.”
Cox is likely referring to Legislative Finance Committee data, which states that each attorney averaged 2,800 cases, making it the state’s highest average caseload.
The special prosecutor asserted that Martin’s ethnicity played a role in the state’s efforts to remove her from office.
“The only Native American female district attorney in New Mexico is being disparately impacted compared to other similarly situated district attorneys,” Cox said. “She’s the only state agency that got their funding cut and gutted like she did.”
However, the audience at the event wasn’t entirely supportive of Martin, with one Native American woman saying, “I don’t know why I fell through the cracks, but I did.” The purported victim alluded to being hit or ran over by a drunk driver and expressed disappointment that her case didn’t result in a prosecution.
Martin responded and said that it’s up to law enforcement to handle drunk driving offenses and to present cases for her to prosecute.
“The public safety issues are for law enforcement, not the D.A.,” she said.
On the flipside, a public defender expressed concern that his clients could sit in jail for an extended period if the D.A. runs out of funds and employees lose their jobs.
However, if Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, has his way, a vacant D.A.’s office will never become a reality on his watch. As an outspoken critic of Martin, he addressed the crowd at the event, laying out why Martin should be removed as D.A.
“The numbers are bad in McKinley County. The dismissal rates are bad. Everything is bad,” he said.
Though her expulsion lies in the hands of the governor or attorney general, not lawmakers.
“If we don’t fix the problem, the crime problem in McKinley County, we’re not going to fix it anywhere,” he said. “Everybody deserves justice.”
Muñoz went on to say, “We have 46 juvenile cases sitting out there in the courts right now. We had seven cases dismissed two weeks ago because she didn’t show up for court.”
He also said rape and murder cases have fallen through the cracks, despite Martin’s claims that her office is mostly up to speed on cases.
At this juncture Martin’s fate may be at the hands of a grand jury, Muñoz hinted. While her role as D.A. might be on thin ice, she’s seeking legal measures to remain as the county’s top prosecutor.
Visit Gallup Sun’s Facebook page to watch the videos of Martin and Muñoz’s presentations. We will provide updates at www.gallupsunweekly.com
