Roland Madrid
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Roland Madrid was a judge for the Municipal Court of Santa Clara in Grant County, New Mexico. He resigned from the bench on February 4, 2014, in response to allegations of misconduct.
Noteworthy events
Over 30 misconduct allegations charged against Madrid
According to the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission, the New Mexico Supreme Court granted the commission's motion to allow Madrid to permanently resign from office and avoid further disciplinary proceedings. The commission had filed a request for an immediate, temporary suspension on February 4, 2014.[1]
According to the 88-page suspension petition filed with the court, Madrid committed multiple, willful acts of misconduct while in office. The petition referenced more than 30 acts of alleged misconduct committed by Madrid while he served as a municipal court judge. Among the charges, Madrid tried to use his judicial office to get preferential treatment twice in 2012, during dealings with law enforcement. In addition, Madrid only held court during the month of November for the time period from September 2011 through February 2012. He also took a vacation to go hunting, without providing proper notice to the district court, so that an alternate judge could be appointed to fill in, between December 18, 2013, and January 22, 2013. Madrid also allegedly told ". . .court staff he was only required to hold court for eight hours per month regardless of the amount of cases filed in his court, and that taking phone calls from defendants counted towards his eight hours."[2]
Other charges against Madrid alleged:
- lack of continuing judicial education credits
- failure to submit reports and remittances
- failure to make deposits of fines and fees collected by the court in a timely manner
- abuse of court resources
- allowing unauthorized personnel to sign bench warrants
- due process violations and improper ex parte communications
- failure to properly perform judicial and administrative duties
The supreme court suspended Madrid permanently: He will never be able to serve as a judge in the state of New Mexico again. The commission's investigation files, and all court documents related to the investigation, have been unsealed by the court and may be viewed by the public.[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of New Mexico • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of New Mexico
State courts:
New Mexico Supreme Court • New Mexico Court of Appeals • New Mexico District Courts • New Mexico Magistrate Court • New Mexico Municipal Courts • New Mexico Probate Courts • New Mexico Problem-Solving Courts • New Mexico Workers' Compensation Administration Court • Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court
State resources:
Courts in New Mexico • New Mexico judicial elections • Judicial selection in New Mexico
