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Indemnifying Public Employees Against Judgments For Punitive Damages: The New Mexico Tort Claims Act Is Unconstitutional, Matthew Holt
Indemnifying Public Employees Against Judgments For Punitive Damages: The New Mexico Tort Claims Act Is Unconstitutional, Matthew Holt
New Mexico Law Review
The New Mexico Tort Claims Act (TCA) was adopted both to limit the liability of the government, in order to protect the public treasury, and to provide for reasonable compensation to people who have been injured by wrongful acts of the government and its employees. One facet of the TCA neither decreases the government’s liability nor provides for the payment of compensation to those injured by the government’s wrongful acts. In fact, in this area, the TCA increases the government’s liability. The TCA provides that the government is obligated both to defend and indemnify employees who are subject to claims …
Front Matter, New Mexico Law Review
Between A Rock And An Ethical Duty: Attorney Obligations Under The Reporting Requirement Of New Mexico’S Abuse And Neglect Act, Kirsten Dick
Between A Rock And An Ethical Duty: Attorney Obligations Under The Reporting Requirement Of New Mexico’S Abuse And Neglect Act, Kirsten Dick
New Mexico Law Review
Every person in New Mexico has a statutory duty to report known or suspected child abuse or neglect to the proper authorities. Does this duty extend to attorneys who have their own set of ethical rules prohibiting disclosure of confidential client information? In State v. Strauch, the New Mexico Supreme Court held that the “every person” language of the Abuse and Neglect Act extends the mandatory duty to report to all persons, not just those professionals who work most frequently with children and are enumerated in the statute. This interpretation spurs an analysis of the interplay among the attorney-client privilege, …
Alternative Sanctions In Litigation, Douglas Richmond
Alternative Sanctions In Litigation, Douglas Richmond
New Mexico Law Review
Courts may impose non-monetary sanctions on lawyers in litigation. These include what this article characterizes as alternative sanctions because they differ from traditional non-monetary sanctions that affect a lawyer’s ability to litigate a case, such as revoking the lawyer’s pro hac vice admission. Alternative sanctions may further be categorized as reflective sanctions where they are intended to cause the offending lawyers to reflect on their conduct with a goal of reform, or as shaming sanctions where they are intended to shame errant lawyers into improving their behavior and, in addition, to deter similar misconduct by other lawyers. Ordering a lawyer …
Minor Protections: Best Practices For Representing Child Migrants, Laila L. Hlass
Minor Protections: Best Practices For Representing Child Migrants, Laila L. Hlass
New Mexico Law Review
In recent years, the number of Central American children fleeing violence and seeking protection in the United States has surged, and these children’s cases have flooded the immigration courts. Children are treated virtually the same as adults in immigration court, and, because they are not provided government-appointed counsel, many must defend themselves from deportation pro se. In 2014, 80% of children—roughly 34,130—were unrepresented, and this lack of representation often has profound consequences: many of these children are eligible for protection from deportation, but, without access to attorneys, most will be deported anyway. Governments, nonprofits, and child advocates have taken action …
Lost In Translation: New Mexico’S Non-English Speaking Jurors And The Right To Translated Jury Instructions, Kyle Duffy
Lost In Translation: New Mexico’S Non-English Speaking Jurors And The Right To Translated Jury Instructions, Kyle Duffy
New Mexico Law Review
New Mexico is the only state in the nation that constitutionally protects the right of its citizens to participate on a jury despite his or her inability to speak the English language. The New Mexico Constitution provides that “[t]he right of any citizen of the state to . . . sit upon juries, shall never be restricted, abridged or impaired on account of religion, race, language or color, or inability to speak, read or write the English or Spanish languages.” However, non-English speaking jurors are not entitled to receive a copy of written jury instructions in his or her native …
Qualified Immunity And Excessive Force: A Greater Or Lesser Role For Juries?, Nicholas T. Davis, Philip B. Davis
Qualified Immunity And Excessive Force: A Greater Or Lesser Role For Juries?, Nicholas T. Davis, Philip B. Davis
New Mexico Law Review
The two-pronged qualified immunity analysis, which is often the deciding point in any Fourth Amendment use of force case, continues to be a difficult issue dictated by abstract rules. First, courts need to further the law by analyzing the facts to determine whether a constitutional right existed and was violated. Second, in determining whether the right was been clearly established, the courts must find just the right middle ground between too broad an analysis – such as merely citing Graham or its several factors – and an analysis that is too narrow – such as requiring the exact fact pattern …
To Discipline Or Not To Discipline: A Framework For New Mexico To Analyze The Ethics Of Medical Marijuana Representation, Jesse Montoya
To Discipline Or Not To Discipline: A Framework For New Mexico To Analyze The Ethics Of Medical Marijuana Representation, Jesse Montoya
New Mexico Law Review
What are lawyers to do when their obligations to clients conflict with their obligations to the law? How are state ethics systems expected to manage conflicting obligations to state and federal law? This article explores the ethical conundrum of medical marijuana representation in New Mexico. The New Mexico advisory ethics opinion counseled lawyers to avoid “assisting” medical marijuana businesses, but did not clarify what type of conduct qualified as “assistance.” In addition, the New Mexico Supreme Court refused to adopt Rule 16-102(E), which would have carved an exception in the New Mexico Rules of Professional Conduct for assistance of medical …
Let's Get Rid Of State V. Ulibarri's No-Prejudice Rule For Judicial Review Of Grand Jury Proceedings, Walker Boyd
Let's Get Rid Of State V. Ulibarri's No-Prejudice Rule For Judicial Review Of Grand Jury Proceedings, Walker Boyd
New Mexico Law Review
New Mexico courts divide challenges to grand jury proceedings into two categories: (1) “challenges to the quality or sufficiency of the evidence before the grand jury” and (2) “structural challenges involving the manner in which the grand jury process has been conducted[.]” This article analyzes New Mexico courts’ unique approach to so-called “structural” challenges to the grand jury and recent rulemaking activity by the Supreme Court that expands court oversight of grand jury proceedings.
Protecting Persons With Mental Disabilities From Making False Confessions: The Americans With Disabilites Act As A Safeguard, Lauren Rogal
Protecting Persons With Mental Disabilities From Making False Confessions: The Americans With Disabilites Act As A Safeguard, Lauren Rogal
New Mexico Law Review
Individuals with mental disabilities are uniquely vulnerable to making false confessions under police interrogation, prompting a cavalcade of devastating consequences for both the individual confessors and the cause of justice. A growing body of evidence shows that mental disabilities impair the ability of sufferers to withstand the pressures of interrogation, as well as understand and invoke their Constitutional rights during questioning. Most current reform efforts focus on piecemeal legislation on the State level, such as mandatory electronic recording of interrogations. This article argues that Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act provides an existing, nationwide framework for meaningful protection. …
How Governments Can Promote Automated Driving, Bryant Walker Smith
How Governments Can Promote Automated Driving, Bryant Walker Smith
New Mexico Law Review
This Article presents steps that governments can take now to encourage the development, deployment, and use of automated road vehicles. After providing technical and legal context, it describes key administrative, legal, and community strategies to promote automated driving. It concludes by urging policymakers to facilitate automated driving in part by expecting more from today’s drivers and vehicles.
Officers At The Gate: Why United States V. Medina-Copete Should Be The Rule And Not The Exception, Mixcoatl Miera-Rosete
Officers At The Gate: Why United States V. Medina-Copete Should Be The Rule And Not The Exception, Mixcoatl Miera-Rosete
New Mexico Law Review
The war on drugs continues to intensify and experience-based expert testimony by law enforcement officers has become an integral part of the prosecution of suspected drug traffickers. Most recently, prosecutors have sought to qualify officers as experts to testify about the religious practices of individuals involved in the illegal drug trade. Are these officers being properly scrutinized under the standards set out in Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), Gen. Elec. Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136, 141, 143 (1997), Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 …
Front Matter, New Mexico Law Review
Un-Pac-Ing Campaign Finance Law In New Mexico, Eric J. Orona
Un-Pac-Ing Campaign Finance Law In New Mexico, Eric J. Orona
New Mexico Law Review
This Comment explores a complicated and evolving area of law: campaign finance in New Mexico. In 2010, Citizens United v. FEC forever changed the political funding landscape. While the Court allowed corporations and non-profits to spend unlimited amounts of money for or against political candidates, it prohibited candidates and PACs from coordinating with one another. Republican Party of New Mexico v. King, echoing Citizens United, prohibited New Mexico from passing laws limiting political contributions to PACs. How can New Mexico protect its local elections after Citizens United? The answer starts by looking west. While the California legislature got to work …
In The Crosshairs Of Condemnation: A Look At Pre-Condemnation Planning And Publicity In Santa Fe Pacific Trust V. City Of Albuquerque, Jennifer Kittleson
In The Crosshairs Of Condemnation: A Look At Pre-Condemnation Planning And Publicity In Santa Fe Pacific Trust V. City Of Albuquerque, Jennifer Kittleson
New Mexico Law Review
In Santa Fe Pacific Trust v. City of Albuquerque, the New Mexico Court of Appeals considered whether a city’s pre-condemnation planning and publicity activities could constitute a taking when the property condemnation itself never comes to fruition. This Note takes a critical look at the Court’s analysis of this unique issue under both federal and state law. Under the federal Fifth Amendment takings analysis, this Note argues that the Court should have provided a more thorough examination of the plaintiff’s claim using the ad hoc balancing test first articulated in Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York. Next, …
Law Schools Harm Genízaros And Other Indigenous People By Misunderstanding Aba Policy, Bill Piatt, Moises Gonzales, Katja Wolf
Law Schools Harm Genízaros And Other Indigenous People By Misunderstanding Aba Policy, Bill Piatt, Moises Gonzales, Katja Wolf
New Mexico Law Review
Law schools justifiably seek to enroll a diverse student body in order to enrich the academic experience and environment, and to provide attorneys who will serve all segments of our society. American law schools enjoy the constitutional right to maintain such diversity. Indeed, accreditation standards promulgated by the American Bar Association (“ABA”) require it. The Association of American Law Schools carries a similar mandate. In seeking to create a diverse student body, law schools offer applicants the opportunity to identify their backgrounds. There generally is no “diversity police” checking on the accuracy of the self-identification as a member of a …
Cosmopolitan Democracy And The Detention Of Immigrant Families, Rebecca Sharpless
Cosmopolitan Democracy And The Detention Of Immigrant Families, Rebecca Sharpless
New Mexico Law Review
This Article employs the cosmopolitan political theory of Seyla Benhabib as a framework for understanding the U.S. government’s shifting decisions about family detention and immigration policy more generally. Although Benhabib is a leading political theorist, few have used her work to analyze particular immigration policies or laws. This Article begins to fill that gap. Benhabib has much to offer scholars and advocates who envision a world of expanded opportunities for immigrants seeking to enter and for those already here. She calls for increasingly porous, but not open, borders, providing a middle-ground between utopian open-border positions and the exclusionary bent of …