LC Judge concerned about possible budget cuts for NM judiciary system

As New Mexico law makers take to the roundhouse for the 60 day legislative session, on Las Cruces judge says he fears more cuts could be coming to the judiciary system.

Las Cruces District Judge James T. Martin is in Santa Fe for the start of the legislative session. He told ABC-7, over the phone, he’s afraid more cuts could force him to slash hours, services and jobs.

“I’m afraid we’ll be like Albuquerque and Alamogordo and closing the doors to the public,” Judge Martin said. “If we did have a cut we would have to seriously sit down and look at reducing services.”

Judge Martin says there are no additional cuts anticipated for the 2017 budget. But he says there’s no telling what will happen for 2018. He says laying off employees is the last thing he wants to do.

Officials in the 12th district, representing Otero and Lincoln counties in southern New Mexico, already made the announcement that they will be trimming hours within the clerk’s office.

Clerks will now only be available to assist the public for four hours each day.

In a statement, 12th District Chief Judge James Counts said the court apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause and warned that the new schedule will last at least through August.

In Albuquerque, court officials say they have 23 vacancies and employees are scrambling to address heavier workloads.

“I’m very confident that whatever the differences are in the legislature, they’ll opt to give the best services to the very deserving people in the state of New Mexico,” Leo Poldo, a court interpreter said.