New Mexico AG eyes pretrial services change in special session
SANTA FE, N.M. – New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sent a letter to the Bernalillo County district court Wednesday, urging them to release public records related to their GPS ankle monitor alert system.
4 Investigates has been on this story for years, exposing the problems. Now, we’re working to find solutions.
The attorney general says it might be time to rethink pretrial services, the group responsible for monitoring suspects waiting for trial.
Torrez claims the Second Judicial District Court is incorrectly using a 2022 law that limits what information on GPS monitors can be released to the public.
He says if the court does not produce what he says is public information, he’s cooking up a proposal that could take pretrial supervision out of the courts altogether.
“Part of this has to do with the kind of reporting that happened at KOB a long time ago,” said Torrez.
4 Investigates reporting on ankle monitors in Albuquerque have led to change, and more questions.
“We can’t have an informed conversation if we don’t have basic information,” Torrez said.
Torrez has sent a letter to the Second Judicial District Court’s records custodian, urging them to release public documents related to a denied request for GPS monitor data made by another news outlet.
“And we’re prepared to take that issue all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to,” said Torrez.
It’s a familiar fight for Torrez, one he took up as district attorney.
“If somebody told me that I would actually be forced to file a lawsuit against the district court to get access to GPS information on defendants that the court itself has deemed dangerous, and placed on GPS monitoring, I would have said you were crazy,” Torrez said in August 2022.
Which is why he says if the court does not change course:
“I will ask the legislature and I will ask the governor to strongly consider moving pretrial supervision from under the purview of the judiciary, and placing it directly under the direction of a law enforcement agency,” said Torrez.
Because the public information is essential for a safer community.
“The work that 4 Investigates and other investigative journalists have done in this space, has done a lot to really shine a light on some of the problems inside pretrial supervision,” Torrez said.
Instead of continually fighting the courts for information, move the whole department under a law enforcement agency which already has transparency measures in-place.
If someone is caught violating their GPS monitor exclusion zones, it would cut out the middle man and law enforcement would be responsible for enforcement.
However, Torrez says he’d prefer the court to just get onboard and release what he sees as public info.
KOB 4 has put in our own requests for public information, and we’ll see what the court decides to give 4 Investigates.
A special session is scheduled for July.
KOB 4 received a statement from the courts Wednesday saying:
“We are in receipt of Attorney General Torrez’ letter regarding the court’s handling of a request under the Inspection of Public Records Act. We are reviewing the matter with legal counsel and are unable at this time to address the Attorney General’s view of the law.”
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