Doña Ana District Attorney candidates discuss retaining prosecutors, lowering case dismissals

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Election day is less than a week away now, and on the ballot is the next District Attorney of Doña Ana County.

ABC-7 sat down with both candidates to share their positions on issues the current D.A.'s office, and Las Cruces is currently facing.

We spoke with both democratic nominee Fernando Macias, the former county manager and district judge, as well as republican Michael Cain, a former prosecutor who now runs a private practice.

Cain and Macias both say the Third Judicial District Attorney’s office has had issues for years, and both have different ideas on how to fix them.

The candidates say the office has had trouble retaining prosecutors, and ABC-7 asked both on how they would address it.

Both say they already have successful recruits lined up, while Cain also said he would look into contracting them.

“There’s a number of attorneys who have been reaching out to me, basically indicating their interest to work in this office. I have decades of experience in terms of recruiting people to work for governmental offices," said Macias.

“Part of it is the current administration, I know people who know the current administration and they just don’t want to work there. They’re interested in coming to work day one with us," said Cain.

Another issue is lowering the number of dismissed cases, and both say they would like to utilize more preliminary hearings.

“When you go to a preliminary system, it’s like a mini trial, you basically have all of your ducks in a row, you have to know what witnesses are going to say for which element of a crime," said Cain.

Macias says on the flip-side, grand jury indictments still hold high value, as preliminary hearings can be timely.

“You can do far more cases through a grand jury function," said Macias.

"You can handle more within a shorter period of time. You have to take into consideration the timelines, you have to take into consideration the number of cases being filed," he added.

We also asked both why they believe they should be your next District Attorney, and both cite their experience and time in the borderland.

“I’ve been here almost 25 years now, I worked as an assistant D.A. under Susana Martinez, worked more years at the NM Youth & Families Department doing abuse and neglect prosecution, and since 2006 I’ve been running my own private practice," said Cain.

“I can rebuild the office, I can do it in a shorter period of time, I can already have established relationships with all of the judges, I want the public to know in my candidacy, I bring a broad level of skill," said Macias.

We also gave each the opportunity to ask each other a question.

Macias declined, but Cain questioned Macias' experience as an attorney to run for this office.

“I just do not understand that a man who literally has not stood in a courtroom as an attorney of record for nearly 30 years, I just can’t explain that," said Cain.

In response, Macias said his experience is unmatched.

“I have as a district court judge, presided over 10,700 cases, 80 percent of them, normally it’s an attorney who works towards becoming a district judge, here it’s the reverse," said Macias.