Las Cruces Doubts Impartiality Of Two Judges

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) – A dispute between two Las Cruces municipal judges and city officials has led to the dismissal of dozens of cases since June.

The issue centers around cases prosecuted by city attorney Fermin Rubio. His office is the target of a lawsuit by the judges.

Rubio asked the judges to take them off such cases in a letter June 1st. They refused.

Rubio is now asking district court to assign cases to another judge.

He believes Municipal Judges Melissa Miller-Byrnes and James Locatelli may not be objective because of their lawsuit.

They seek more than $100,000 in legal fees from defending themselves against allegations of judicial misconduct brought by city officials.

They were found innocent of most of the allegations.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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