You know the old story about cockroaches. If you see one there are sure to be many others hidden away. It takes the cold light of day to force them out. So it is with the widening scandal engulfing the Bernalillo County District Court system and threatening to destroy the credibility of the state's criminal justice system.

According to a state Department of Public Safety investigative report written in 1998 and leaked to veteran investigative reporter Larry Barker of KRQE-TV, at least four of the judges, including the recently arrested John Brennan, were reportedly snorting coke while passing judgment on criminals who came before them. The names of the other three have not been made public nor have the names of the defense lawyers who the report also names as regular coke users. The report, conducted by a task force looking into NM drug-dealing, also states these cocaine using officers of the court consorted with a businessman who was their coke dealer. To top it off, the report traces Brennan's coke use back several decades!

Since the report is six years old it is likely that some of those named in the report are no longer judges. At least hope so. But that doesn't nullify the need for a complete vacuum-cleaning of the district court.

None of this is hot news to the deep political insiders in New Mexico. The rumors have circulated for years and the names of the other judges are familiar to those close to politics. No, we won't speculate. Why? Because it is not our job. But whose job it is and what is going to be done is the job of those who held power when that report was issued in 1998 and those who hold it today and are paid to protect the credibility and fairness of the judicial system. Once again, I am turning this one over to the alligators who continue to surface via e mail with the tough questions facing New Mexico in light of this explosive report.

THE QUESTIONS SOME FEAR

--Will the Judicial Standards Commission do it's job and launch a thorough and independent investigation of the allegedly coke-addled ABQ court system?

--What about the State Supreme Court? It's the highest one we've got. Do the justice's have the courage to come forward and do something, or are they content with their cozy eight year terms and don't want to rock the boat?

--What about the sentences these apparently drug sniffing judges handed down to drug dealing defendants? How can such sentencing, or any of their sentences, be taken seriously? What are the ethical and legal implications?

--What about the judges who have NOT used cocaine while on the bench and were genuinely unaware of what was going on down there? Will they finally stand up and defend their profession by calling for the light of day to be shined on this festering mess? Or is it all about the power and the $89k a year salary?

--What about the District Attorney here? Will she call for a special prosecutor and also urge an independent outside investigation into the cocaine scandal? Is she uncomfortable with the lawlessness that has apparently infected our district court? If a DA ever had the chance to make a lasting mark for the public good, this is it. But it will take guts and the ability not to crack under pressure. Ditto for Attorney General Madrid, the state's highest elected law enforcement official.

--What about those who held power in 1998? The then head of the Department of Pubic Safety and then Attorney General? Were they told of the report? Did they read it? Did they decide to act on it or not act on it, and why?

--What about former Governor Johnson?. Did he see the report or was he briefed on it? Did his administration's support of legalized drugs have any bearing on why the report did not come to light for six long years?

--What about Governor Richardson? Will he step forward and force the rest of the political system to respond to the most serious allegations of criminal behavior leveled against sitting NM judges in living memory? He may be the only one with sufficient moral authority to do so, even though some of the judges and attorneys embroiled in the scandal will be Democrats.

--What about the State Legislature and its numerous attorneys exercising some good old fashioned oversight? How about lawyers Ken Martinez and Michael Sanchez, chairs of the judiciary panels leading the charge? Or, is that not the job of our elected lawmakers who appropriate the millions necessary to keep the courts funded?

--What about the media? Is Larry Barker a lone voice? As Senator Dole once said, "Where's the outrage?" And where's the pages of tough investigative stories that the scandal cries out for? Where are the eloquent editorials calling for steps to restore public confidence in the judicial system? Or is that a job best left to the national media which is unattached to the personalities involved? If so, come on down "60 Minutes," you are needed now more than ever.

--What about the president of the NM Bar Association and the other legal societies such as the Trial Lawyer's Association? Nothing to say? Why not?

WHO WILL LEAD NEW MEXICO?

Watch for more statements from district court judges saying: "That was then, this is now. Or, "He was a wonderful judge, he just had a little failing." If we continue to hear that, then we know the arrogance, the denial, the lack of respect for the voting public and the judicial process they are sworn to uphold and that has given them so much of what they have today is alive and well. It is that pernicious attitude that has been so in evidence in the wake of the Brennan cocaine arrest that so boils the blood of the public.

Ultimately, Governor Big Bill has a decision to make here. He promised sweeping changes in the state and he alone has the political capital and the public's confidence to address the problem and send a clear message that our enchanted land is ready to join the rest of the United States. If he does not, he will be on his way to perpetuating the devil-may-care, politics-as usual attitudes that have so damaged New Mexico's future prospects. That would not be much of a legacy and sure isn't a platform for higher political office.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2004
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