Joan Barron has this interesting profile of the Tenth Circuit’s newest judge, Gregory Phillips, in the Casper Star-Tribune.
The money quote is Judge Phillips’ remark “Give me a stack of cases, a stack of notebooks and a few color marks and a big Coke Zero and I’m happy.”
As an appellate law nerd, I couldn’t agree more . . . well, except for the Coke Zero part. (Someone needs to introduce Judge Phillips to the superior properties of Dr. Pepper, and Coca-Cola from Mexico).
In Livingston v. Environmental Earthscapes, a landscaper suffered a wrist injury and carpal tunnel syndrome at his job. The workers’ compensation judge found that the worker was entitled to permanent partial disability (PPD) and loss of use (LOU) benefits.
This award would have entitled the worker to $582 per week, but because his average weekly wage was $377.92, the workers’ compensation judge reduced his benefits to that amount, in accord with NMSA 1978, § 52-1-47.1(A), which provides that workers’ compensation benefits “shall be limited so that no worker receives more in total payments, including wages and benefits from his employer, by not working than by continuing to work.” Continue reading →
In Holzem v. Presbyterian Healthcare Services (July 17, 2013), the Court of Appeals issued a reminder that New Mexico’s standard for the admission of expert testimony is liberal. The fact that a doctor is not a specialist, or have a particular credential, in a given area of medical practice does not mean that his testimony can be excluded, provided that he otherwise has experience in that area.
Douglas Reid, age 34, sought treatment at one of defendant’s urgent care centers, where he was provided with palliative treatment and then sent home. His condition worsened, and was admitted to a hospital, but he died the next day of Influenza B that had not been diagnosed. Plaintiff alleged that defendants were negligent for failing to diagnose the condition.
Plaintiff offered an expert physician, Darwin Palmer, to support the case. Defendants moved to exclude him because he was not a specialist in emergency medicine, and had no experience with Tamiflu. Dr. Palmer was, however, a specialist in infectious diseases, and while he testified at deposition that he hadn’t practiced medicine after Tamiflu became available, he later provided affidavits saying that he had lots of experience treating flu victims, and really did have experience prescribing Tamiflu after all. Continue reading →
According to this story in the Santa Fe New Mexican, City of Santa Fe attorney Geno Zamora has asked the New Mexico Supreme Court for leave to file an amicus curiae brief in the Hanna v. Salazar mandamus writ proceeding. In that case, two gay men are asking the Supreme Court to order the Santa Fe County Clerk to issue a marriage license to them. Such a move would effectively be a holding that same-sex marriage is legal in New Mexico.
I do not have a copy of the City’s amicus curiae filing, but will be sure to post it when I do. I also hope to post links to any responses to the writ petition (which are due on July 22), and any other amicus briefs that may be filed.
You can find my earlier posts about this case, and the related case filed by the ACLU, here, here, and here.
UPDATE (July 19, 2013): Here is a copy of the City’s Motion to File Amicus Curiae Brief, which Geno Zamora kindly e-mailed to me yesterday. Due to the fast pace of this litigation, the City is not yet finished with its amicus brief, which was therefore not attached to this filing.
District Judge Alan Malott has this article in the Albuquerque Journal, describing some of the new laws that took effect in New Mexico on July 1.
Prominent among these are the Fair Pay for Women Act, which apparently strengthens remedies for women who contend they have been subjected to discrimination by their employers, and a law that prohibits prospective employers from asking job applicants for their social media passwords.
Albuquerque appellate lawyer Kerry Kiernan of the Sutin, Thayer & Browne law firm has announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the New Mexico Court of Appeals. If Kiernan wins that nomination, he would likely face current Judge Miles Hanisee, a Republican, in the 2014 general election.
A Campaign Kick-Off event will be held on Friday, August 2. Kiernan has announced that he will be pursuing public financing for his campaign under the New Mexico Voter Action Act. Continue reading →
Recently, Governor Susana Martinez’s appointment of former district judge, and former prosecutor, Susan Riedel to the New Mexico Public Defender Commission has generated some controversy. Critics of the appointment have made two arguments — first, that Ms. Riedel is not qualified under the statute, and second, that it’s somehow inappropriate for a former prosecutor to serve on the Commission. The first criticism may or may not have merit, but the second criticism is unfair and illogical. Continue reading →
A year ago today, I published the first post on the New Mexico Appellate Law Blog. I’d like to use this occasion to thank everyone, especially Lucy Rosen, who encouraged me to start this website and helped me to set it up. I’d also thank my readers, commenters, and those in the New Mexico and Tenth Circuit legal communities who have emailed or called me with encouraging remarks.
I do have a favor to ask . . . if you like this blog, please consider nominating it for the American Bar Association’s 7th Annual Blawg 100, a listing of the 100 best law blogs in the United States. The nomination form is here. The deadline for submitting a nomination is August 9, 2013.
Thanks again to everyone. I hope the second year of this blog will be even better than the first!
The Casper Star-Tribune reports that the U.S. Senate has confirmed Wyoming Attorney General Gregory Phillips’ nomination to the Tenth Circuit by a vote of 88-0. He will be taking the seat held by Judge Terrence O’Brien, who has taken senior status. Congratulations to Judge Phillips!
Earlier this year, these same plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in the Second Judicial District Court asking for the same relief. That case is still pending, and both proceedings are captioned Griego v. Oliver.
A press release with further information about this lawsuit is at the ACLU of New Mexico’s website.
Presumably, the Court will consider this petition together with the other petition for writ of mandamus filed by Rep. Brian Egolf. You can find my previous coverage of Rep. Egolf’s petition here and here.
