Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Case Management Order Risk topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
First Judicial District warns the Supreme Court’s case-management order could prompt thousands of dismissals without more staff
Summary
First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwis told the committee that the district faces a high risk of mass case dismissals if the Supreme Court’s case-management order is applied without added prosecutors and support staff; she asked lawmakers to fund additional positions now to avoid a backlog like Albuquerque’s earlier experience.
First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwis warned the House Appropriations & Finance Committee that the district could face a major backlog and mass dismissals if the Supreme Court implements a case-management order (CMO) that compresses preparation timelines without additional staff.
Lede detail: Carmack-Altwis said the First Judicial District (Santa Fe, Rio Arriba and Los Alamos counties) has asked for 13 positions to prepare for the expected CMO; the executive recommended partial funding (five positions) while the LFC partially funded requests and proposed special appropriation options for some juvenile/young adult diversion work.
Why it matters: The First Judicial District argued it would be the next district to see a CMO similar to Albuquerque’s, which DA witnesses said led to thousands of lost cases and years-long backlogs. Carmack-Altwis said proactive funding is a preventative step to avoid the operational and public-safety consequences that follow mass dismissals.
Key points from testimony - Carmack-Altwis said the CMO compresses an entire case’s work into the first 45 days after arrest; if all required materials and evidence are not ready in that window, a case can be dismissed and the defendant released. She said that historically Albuquerque lost many cases after the CMO took effect there. - The First Judicial District requested 13 positions to handle the workload that a CMO would impose. The executive recommendation funded five positions; LFC recommended partial support and a special appropriation route for a juvenile diversion program. - Carmack-Altwis described investments her office has made to modernize discovery processes and called for state support to avoid future backlog and trial delays.
Direct quote: “I am asking you not to put me or my district ... in that same position,” Carmack-Altwis told lawmakers, adding that she prefers proactive funding now over seeking fixes after thousands of cases are dismissed.
Ending: Committee members acknowledged the risk and asked analysts to track the request closely. The committee adopted LFC recommendations for the First Judicial District budget but members signaled that the public safety working group should review the district’s case-management request if the Supreme Court’s order moves forward.
