NM Supreme Court censures judge for ex parte communication

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on February 17, 2016

According to this story by Mark Oswald in the Albuquerque Journal, the New Mexico Supreme Court has censured District Judge Sarah Singleton of Santa Fe for an ex parte communication she had with one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers in the FedEx case that resulted in a $165.5 million wrongful death verdict, the largest in New Mexico’s history.

The communication occurred because one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, who hails from Texas, telephoned Judge Singleton after the verdict, ostensibly to ask for a restaurant recommendation in Santa Fe, and ended up talking about the case. I cannot fathom what would possess a lawyer to do such a thing. Why couldn’t he just look up “Best Santa Fe restaurants” on Google?

In any event, I do not have a copy of the order, but would like to say that in my experience, Judge Singleton is a highly competent, fair judge, and I am convinced that this was a one-time mistake that will not be repeated.

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NM Court of Appeals: Man who shot friend through front door entitled to self-defense instruction

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on February 17, 2016

Requildo Cardenas was jolted awake at 1:30 a.m. by someone banging on his front door. He grabbed a gun and demanded to know who was there, but received no answer. Instead, the unknown person continued banging on the door. Cardenas fired a shot through the door. Tragically, the man at the door was one of Cardenas’ friends, and Cardenas’ bullet killed him.

Cardenas was tried for voluntary manslaughter, and asked for an instruction on the defense of habitation, which is “virtually identical” to a self-defense instruction. The trial court denied the instruction because Cardenas had not shown that his friend intended to commit a violent felony. The jury convicted Cardenas of voluntary manslaughter.

In State v. Cardenas, Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for a new trial. In Judge Kennedy’s opinion, the Court explained that “the relevant inquiry lies in the defendant’s own subjective perception of the intruder’s intentions, rather than interpreting the intruder’s intent itself.” The evidence supported giving the instruction because Cardenas could reasonably have believed that someone banging heavily on his front door in the middle of the night, while refusing to identify himself, could be intent on committing a violent felony.

It’s hard to disagree with that analysis. One has a right to feel safe in one’s home, and to defend oneself and one’s family.

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Justice Antonin Scalia, RIP

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on February 16, 2016

Justice Scalia passed away on Saturday, and the internet is now full of remembrances of him, and evaluations of his highly influential career.

I won’t attempt to add to this extensive body of commentary. I’ll just say that while legal writing can sometimes be dull or even sleep-inducing, Justice Scalia’s opinions were more like a double shot of espresso from Starbucks. Whether you liked him or not, his opinions were never boring.

My condolences to Justice Scalia’s family and friends.

 

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Tenth Circuit rejects challenge to donor disclosure requirement in Colorado election law

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on February 5, 2016

The Independence Institute wanted to run a television ad right before the 2014 general election that criticized Colorado’s failure to audit its health insurance exchange, and which asked viewers to contact the governor (who was then up for re-election) to express their views.

The Institute was concerned that this ad might be considered an “electioneering communication” under Colorado law, which would require it to disclose the names of donors who gave money to support running the ad. It filed suit to challenge the disclosure requirement, arguing that because the ad did not urge viewers to vote for or against the governor, it was unrelated to a campaign, and the First Amendment prohibited Colorado from requiring it to disclose the names of donors who supported the ad.

Yesterday, in Independence Institute v. Williams, the Tenth Circuit rejected these claims. Chief Judge Tymkovich’s opinion explains that the Colorado law, as applied to the advertisement, satisfied the exacting scrutiny standard set forth in Citizens United. The disclosure requirement was supported by the interest in informing the public about who is financing ads that mention political candidates, and it was narrowly tailored to require disclosure only of donors who provided funds specifically earmarked to pay for the advertisement.

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NM Court of Appeals: Attorney-client arbitration contracts must be supported by informed consent

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on February 5, 2016

When Ray Castillo retained lawyers to represent him in his personal injury case, he signed a contract with them which provided that “[s]hould any dispute arise, Client and Attorney agree to submit their dispute to arbitration.” When Castillo later sued his lawyers for malpractice, the trial court ordered that the arbitration clause be enforced, despite a dispute of fact about whether the lawyers had explained the clause’s meaning and effect to Castillo.

In Castillo v. Arrieta, the Court of Appeals held (in a unanimous opinion written by Judge Linda Vanzi) that lawyers and clients may agree to arbitrate malpractice claims, but an arbitration clause will not be enforced unless the lawyer can prove that the client gave informed consent. This means that “[a]t a minimum the attorney should inform his client that arbitration will constitute a waiver of important rights, including, the right to a jury trial, potentially the right to broad discovery, and the right to an appeal on the merits.”

The Court explained that this conclusion flows from the lawyer’s fiduciary obligation to his or her client. In other words, unlike in arms-length relationships, a lawyer cannot simply ask a client to agree to arbitration without explaining the pros and cons.

In this case, the lawyers submitted affidavits saying that they explained the clause to Castillo, but Castillo signed an affidavit saying they hadn’t. The case is being remanded to resolve this factual dispute, but this serves as a reminder that if a lawyer wants to enforce an arbitration agreement with a client, it’s far better to explain the advantages and disadvantages of the agreement in writing, and advise the client, in writing, that he or she should seek independent legal advice about the agreement.

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Panel sends all three Court of Appeals applicants to Governor Martinez

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on February 1, 2016

My apologies for the lack of posting last week, but I was feeling a bit under the weather.

Last week the Judicial Nominating Commission sent the names of all three applicants for the presently vacant Court of Appeals–Stephen French, Julie Vargas, and Ned Fuller–to Governor Martinez.

For a good account of the interviews, read this report by Robert Nott in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

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Tenth Circuit “judges press Utah about polygamy ban in ‘Sister Wives’ case”

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on January 22, 2016

Donna Bryson of the Associated Press has this report on yesterday’s Tenth Circuit oral argument in Brown v. Buhman, where the State of Utah is challenging a district court’s ruling striking down parts of a state law banning polygamy. The case was brought by reality television personality Kody Brown and his four wives.

It will be interesting to see whether the courts will extend the rationale of Obergefell to hold that marriage is not limited to two persons. I’m not sure whether that precise question is presented by this case — the news report mentions that the plaintiffs are raising claims based on religious liberty and the right to privacy — but that question is bound to arise sooner or later.

Hat tip to How Appealing.

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“Editorial: Subjecting out-of-state M.D.s to NM law risky”

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on January 20, 2016

Yesterday the Albuquerque Journal ran this editorial about Montaño v. Frezza, which is pending in the New Mexico Supreme Court. The case involves a New Mexico plaintiff who allegedly suffered malpractice at the hands of a physician in Texas who worked at a state-owned hospital, and asks whether the physician should be able to rely on Texas’ sovereign immunity while being sued in New Mexico state court. I’ve previously written about this case here and here.

The editorial acknowledges that the plaintiff should be able to recover damages if the physician committed malpractice, but expresses the fear that allowing this lawsuit will encourage Texas medical providers to stop giving non-emergency care to New Mexico residents.

If you know of any other editorials or commentary on this case, please e-mail me, because I would be glad to link to them here.

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Three apply for vacant seat on NM Court of Appeals

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on January 20, 2016

Three lawyers have submitted applications to the Judicial Nominating Commission, seeking to fill the seat vacated by Judge Cynthia Fry at the end of 2015. Here they are in alphabetical order:

1. Stephen G. French is a an experienced and respected defense lawyer at French & Associates in Albuquerque, specializing in civil rights matters. He obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of New Mexico, and his J.D. at California Western School of Law (earlier I said that he graduated from United States International University — that was the product of some misinformation on the web; my apologies to Mr. French and to my readers!).

2. Ned Fuller is the former director of the Workers’ Compensation Administration, and was the Republican nominee for the Court of Appeals in 2010 (he lost to Robert Robles). You can still see his campaign spot on YouTube. Later, Governor Martinez appointed him to the district court bench in Albuquerque, but he was defeated in the election by Judge Victor Lopez. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Arizona State University, and his J.D. from Brigham Young University.

3. Julie Vargas is shareholder at the Hunt & Davis law firm in Albuquerque, and will be seeking the Democratic nomination for the seat, according to her campaign’s Facebook page. My understanding is that she has a background in commercial litigation and real estate matters. She has served on the New Mexico Disciplinary Board and the New Mexico Board of Bar Commissioners. Ms. Vargas obtained her undergraduate degree from Brown University, and her J.D. from the University of New Mexico.

The Judicial Nominating Commission will meet at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at the Supreme Court Building in Santa Fe to consider the applications and interview the three applicants (you can see a list of members here). The meeting is open to the public. The Commission will then vote on which applicants to forward to Governor Martinez, who will then have 30 days to appoint one of them, or to ask that additional names be sent to her.

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Valerie Plame to speak at NM State Bar on January 19

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on January 14, 2016

Valerie Plame, the well-known former CIA officer and resident of Santa Fe, will be speaking on national security issues at the New Mexico State Bar Center in Albuquerque at noon on Tuesday, January 19, 2016.

This talk is sponsored by the Solo and Small Firm Section of the State Bar. Lunch will be provided to all those who RSVP in advance to Evann Kleinschmidt at [email protected].

 

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