NM Supreme Court denies request to expand inmate release

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Monday that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office did not willfully ignore the health and safety of state prison populations by releasing inmates in a limited manner during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The high court’s decision was in response to a petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of New […]

NM Supreme Court denies request to expand inmate release

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Monday that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office did not willfully ignore the health and safety of state prison populations by releasing inmates in a limited manner during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The high court’s decision was in response to a petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and the state’s Law Offices of the Public Defender, alleging that Lujan Grisham’s office subjected inmates in state-run detention centers to cruel and unusual punishment by not broadening the scope of who is released. 

Chief Justice Judith Nakamura, ruling from the bench, said since the court did not find that Lujan Grisham’s office was “deliberately indifferent” to a possible COVID-19 outbreak in state detention centers there was no need to consider whether inmates’ rights were violated.  

“It’s a two prong analysis,” Nakamura said. “The court is not addressing prong one. We’re basing our decision on prong two. And that’s the prong which specifically focuses on whether or not [Lujan Grisham’s office] are deliberately indifferent to the health and safety of inmates. On this record the court unanimously finds that the answer is ‘no.’

Chief Public Defender Bennet Baur told NM Political Report that regardless of the court’s decision, his office will keep pushing for more releases.

“The governor’s office and the Department of Corrections have taken steps, we just don’t believe that with the emergency situation that it’s enough at this point,” Baur said. “This filing asks for collaboration. The ask was to set up a process, it wasn’t to swing wide the prison doors, it was to set up a process where there are certain presumptions, but that public safety was very much a consideration.”

Kim Chavez Cook, who argued for the LOPD and the ACLU, told justices that the petitioners had tried to facilitate a collaborative effort with the governor’s office but did not receive a substantive response. Baur said his office will continue to keep the door open for collaboration.  

“The basis of that has to be more widespread testing,” Baur said. 

COVID-19 testing was one of the first things the justices asked Chavez Cook about during her opening argument. Justice Shannon Bacon asked Chavez Cook if aggressive testing in state-run detention centers would “undercut” her argument. 

Chavez Cook said that while increased testing is a start, it “wouldn’t be enough.”

So far there has been very little testing of both inmates and corrections staff. Towards the beginning of the proceeding, a lawyer for the Department of Corrections said there was only one contract worker who tested positive for the disease. But by the end of the hearing, the lawyer announced three additional employees had tested positive for COVID-19. 

Chavez told the justices that roughly one-third of current detainees are in jail for technical parole or probation violations, which are generally considered to be not showing up for a scheduled appointment or testing positive for drugs or alcohol. Although Chavez Cook added that not all of those would necessarily be released. 

The governor’s lawyer, Matthew Garcia, echoed a point he made in his written argument last month, arguing that the petitioners are just unhappy with Lujan Grisham’s approach to lessening detention center populations amid a pandemic. 

“What we have here is a fundamental dispute about policy,” Garcia said. 

His take was that the ACLU and the LOPD were “unsatisfied” with the approach the governor took, which was to release qualified inmates who have a month left of their sentence. So far, the governor has approved the release of 33 inmates since the emergence of COVID-19 in New Mexico. That, Garcia argued, shows that the governor is concerned with the health and safety of inmates. 

Much of the discussion and questions from justices centered on both the safety of inmates and the general public. 

Bacon, for example, asked what happens to inmates once they get out. Justice Michael Vigil asked how and if the state would vet the home of an inmate who was released on house arrest. 

Chavez Cook pointed to the written arguments which argued the need of a special master who could help decipher who could be released without putting local communities in danger. 

“We’re not actually talking about shortening sentences,” Chavez Cook said. 

The governor’s executive order for ongoing inmate releases is still in place, but 33 releases since April 6 break down to about one inmate a day. Lujan Grisham’s narrow release order does not apply to those incarcerated for enhanced gun violations, drinking and driving, or domestic abuse.

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

A New Mexico-based LGBTQ rights organization endorsed 15 candidates for state House and Senate seats for the 2024 elections.  Marshall Martinez, executive director of…
Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…
Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republican-backed legislation in the U.S. Congress would make it harder for the government to designate new national monuments. The proposed Congressional Oversight of the…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News Four years after hospitals in New York City overflowed with covid-19 patients, emergency physician Sonya Stokes remains shaken by…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Sen. Martin Heinrih and other Senate colleagues introduced abortion rights legislation into the U.S. Senate on Thursday. The Abortion Care Capacity Enhancement and Support…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Sen. Martin Heinrih and other Senate colleagues introduced abortion rights legislation into the U.S. Senate on Thursday. The Abortion Care Capacity Enhancement and Support…
New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid announced on Wednesday that it will cover the cost of Opill, the first oral contraception approved for over-the-counter use. It is…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

The Navajo Nation and San Juan County reached an agreement Monday about commission districts after the tribe alleged that its members were not adequately…
MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

New Mexico’s 2022 election was ranked most well-run in the country by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data and Science Lab’s Elections Performance Index.…
Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
Ex-GOP candidate allegedly hired people to kill witnesses in shootings of homes of Democratix politicians

Ex-GOP candidate allegedly hired people to kill witnesses in shootings of homes of Democratix politicians

Republican failed state house candidate Solomon Peña is facing more federal charges, this time on a murder-for-hire scheme.  Peña allegedly tried to hire two…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report