New Mexico Lawyer Accused of Car Assault in Narrow Miss with Jaywalking Judge

A New Mexico lawyer has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon—his car—for an alleged narrow miss with a judge crossing the street in front of the courthouse. Eric Dixon of Portales was charged Wednesday in the April incident, the Portales News-Tribune reports. District Judge Ted Hartley says…

Oct 6, 2011 11:26 AM CDT

Left for Dead After Law Office Attack, Former Judge is Still Unable to Talk to Investigators

A former judge who was savagely attacked and left for dead in his New Mexico law office 10 days ago is still hospitalized and unable to speak to investigators. Tom Fitch, 68, was struck several times in the head with an unknown object. Maj. Daniel Lovato of the state police,…

Aug 15, 2011 4:35 PM CDT

Ex-Judge Attacked in Law Office and Severely Injured

Police are seeking the assailant or assailants who reportedly battered a former New Mexico judge in his law office on Friday. Thomas Fitch, who practices in Socorro with his wife at Fitch & Tasch Law Office, was severely injured, according to the Albuquerque Journal (sub. req.) and KOAT. KRQE says…

Aug 8, 2011 3:41 PM CDT

Federal Jury Says Law Firm Must Pay $1.26M for Trying to Collect Debt That Wasn’t Owed

Corrected: A law firm that twice attempted to collect a debt from a New Mexico woman that she didn’t owe, in a case of mistaken identity, must pay her $1.26 million, a federal jury in Santa Fe ruled Friday. Attorney Rob Treinen of Albuquerque represented the winning plaintiff, Lucinda Yazzie,…

Aug 1, 2011 5:51 PM CDT

Judge Accused of Raping Prostitute Will Retire Friday to Resolve Legal Ethics Issues

A criminal court chief judge in Albuquerque, N.M., who was accused of raping a prostitute by performing oral sex without her consent has agreed to retire Friday to resolve legal ethics issues. Judge Albert “Pat” Murdoch, who heads criminal courts in the 2nd Judicial District, has also agreed not to…

Jul 26, 2011 9:26 PM CDT

Judge Is Victim in Prostitute-Rape Case, His Counsel Says

At a hearing yesterday a New Mexico judge accused of raping a prostitute was called a victim by his defense counsel and the judge hearing the case eliminated his $50,000 bond and released him on his own recognizance. District Judge Albert “Pat” Murdoch, 57, is taking a leave of absence…

Jul 22, 2011 3:17 PM CDT

Criminal Court Judge Accused of Raping Prostitute in Incident Caught on Tape

A New Mexico judge has been accused of forcing a prostitute to perform a sex act without her consent in an incident she secretly taped. Judge Pat Murdoch of Albuquerque was arrested Tuesday on charges of criminal sexual penetration and intimidation of a witness, report KASA.com, KOB.com and KRQE.com. Murdoch…

Jul 20, 2011 11:54 AM CDT

Legislative Efforts Requiring Judges to Hold JD Meet with Mixed Results

Jul 1, 2011 8:30 AM CDT

Judge Grants Protective Order, Tells NM Man to Take Down Billboard Saying Girlfriend Had an Abortion

Apparently rejecting a New Mexico man’s arguments that he has a free-speech right to put up a billboard in Alamogordo’s main thoroughfare concerning his views on abortion, a state-court judge has issued a protective order telling him to remove it immediately. However, Greg Fultz, 35, feels strongly about his constitutional…

Jun 24, 2011 2:05 PM CDT

Judge Who Gave Lawyer Gag Sex Book Gets Reprimand for Delayed Recusal

Corrected: A New Mexico judge who was open to the possibility of romantic relationship with an assistant public defender to whom he gave a gag sex-book gift during a take-out lunch one Friday in a local park should have immediately recused himself from hearing her cases. Because Bernalillo County District…

Jun 20, 2011 8:44 PM CDT

Free Speech, Privacy Rights Clash in Dispute over Billboard Claiming Woman Had an Abortion

A jilted boyfriend’s free speech rights are pitted against his one-time girlfriend’s privacy rights in a court battle over a billboard with an anti-abortion message. Greg Fultz of Alamogordo, N.M., paid for a billboard on his town’s main street that shows him holding the outline of an infant, report the…

Jun 7, 2011 1:07 PM CDT

Suspended NM Appellate Judge Accused of Blowing Over Twice Legal Limit Takes Plea in DWI Case

A New Mexico appeals court judge who was suspended after being charged in a drunk-driving case last month has pleaded guilty to one count of driving while intoxicated. A first offender, Judge Robert Robles, 60, got probation and community service in the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court after his plea yesterday…

Mar 29, 2011 5:03 PM CDT

Lawyers Suing Over Suspect’s Shooting Death Seek Facebook Information for 57 Officers

An Albuquerque, N.M., policeman who listed his job description as “human waste disposal” on Facebook has caught the attention of lawyers who filed a wrongful death suit against the city for a police shooting in January 2010. The lawyers are asking the city to provide Facebook usernames and passwords of…

Mar 4, 2011 1:44 PM CST

Appeals Court Judge Allegedly Ran Stop Light, Nearly Hit Cop Car, Blew 2.5 Times Legal Limit

A New Mexico appeals court judge faces an aggravated drunk-driving charge after being pulled over in Albuquerque in the wee hours Wednesday and allegedly blowing a .20 on a breath-alcohol test. The legal limit in the state is .08. Appeals Court Judge Robert Eugene Robles was also charged with reckless…

Feb 17, 2011 5:45 PM CST

Dozens Arrested in $100M Medicare Case Bust; Doctor & Patient IDs Allegedly Stolen

Developing: Perhaps 100 people have been arrested in California, Georgia, Ohio, New Mexico and New York, in a record-breaking Medicare fraud case that allegedly involved $100 million in bogus billings and the use of stolen doctor and patient identities. Some 40 individuals were arrested in New York alone and an…

Oct 13, 2010 6:42 PM CDT