Washington, DC— Today, the nation's first comprehensive study of the systems that hold state and federal judges accountable ranked New Mexico 17th in the nation and issued the state's program a C grade. To shine a light on the typically secretive and toothless systems that often fail to remove abusive and incompetent judges from the bench, legal consumer watchdog group HALT, Inc. released its 2008 Judicial Accountability Report Card, analyzing programs in all 50 states, D.C. and the federal circuits.

"New Mexico's system of judicial oversight is one of the most secretive in the nation," stated HALT Senior Counsel Suzanne M. Blonder.

HALT's study found that New Mexico's Judicial Standards Commission does not release information about an ethics complaint against a judge unless the Commission files a recommendation for discipline with the state's Supreme Court. "The vast majority of states provide information to the public immediately following an investigation into a judge's misconduct," noted Blonder.

Additionally, while HALT found the Web site for the Judicial Standards Commission easy to navigate, the site fails to provide a detailed explanation of the disciplinary process, a database of past rulings against judges or a section addressing complainants' most frequently asked questions.

New Mexico's Code of Judicial Conduct does not place meaningful limitations on the reimbursements and compensation that judges may accept in connection with privately funded trips. "New Mexico's laws unfortunately include massive loopholes that still allow members of the judiciary to be wined and dined on the corporate dime," noted Blonder.

HALT found that New Mexico's system of judicial oversight is not entirely flawed, however. New Mexico is one of the few states where ordinary citizens outnumber judges and lawyers on the panel that decides ethics complaints against judges. Two attorneys, three judges and six laypersons serve on the state's Judicial Standards Commission.

None of the top five states-Washington, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Arizona and California-scored higher than a B average on the Report Card. More than half of the states received grades in the C range and HALT issued D's to 14 jurisdictions. Two states-Maine and Mississippi-flunked outright.

"At a time when the American public has lost faith in the impartiality and fairness of the nation's judiciary, it's critical that we have an effective system of oversight for judges," stated Blonder. "We hope that New Mexico's chief judicial officers will work to transform a mechanism marred by secrecy into a system dedicated to upholding the integrity of the judiciary."