The New Mexico Supreme Court ordered a McKinley County magistrate judge off the bench this week, ending a months-long saga between the judge and the state’s Judicial Standards Commission which had sought his removal for abuses of authority in office.
The commission’s recommendation for removal stems from what it described as a “pattern and practice” of misconduct by Magistrate Judge Brent Detsoi, who routinely dismissed criminal cases on his own motion based on a “legally incorrect belief” that the state lacked jurisdiction. When cautioned by superiors, Detsoi reportedly replied that the court’s instructions were “unwarranted.” He further allegedly bypassed legal procedures to conduct personal investigations into police authority, issuing four unauthorized subpoenas to New Mexico State Police officers to “produce evidence” to prove his misinformed belief that state officials could not make arrests on Native land. The commission also noted serious due process violations, including an instance where Detsoi conducted a bench trial and sentenced a defendant without the presence of the defendant’s attorney.
Detsoi was elected to the court in November 2022 and was suspended in October 2024. This week’s order from the Supreme Court brings the matter to a close.