Judges should have reported Murphy’s claims

From NM Politics.net - By Heath Haussamen - The bribery case against Third Judicial District Judge Mike Murphy has created a scandal that rivals any other the New Mexico judiciary has seen in recent times. With more than 100 judges joining Murphy in being appointed by former Gov. Bill Richardson, the public has reason to question the integrity of the entire judiciary. And if witness statements released by prosecutors are to be believed, a number of judges share the blame for that. The state’s Code of Judicial Conduct requires a judge who “receives information indicating a substantial likelihood that another judge has committed a violation” of the code to “take appropriate action.” If the offending judge’s “fitness for office” is in question, the judge who learns of it is required to “inform the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission.” Similarly, the code of conduct for all attorneys in New Mexico – which includes judges – requires any who “knows that a judge has committed a violation of applicable rules of judicial conduct that raises a substantial question as to the judge’s fitness for office” to report it to the commission. According to an incident report released by the case’s special prosecutor, I count at least 12 judges and two other attorneys who knew about the claims Murphy was making, some as early as 2007. But no one notified the Judicial Standards Commission until several weeks ago. Read more

Judges should have reported Murphy’s claims