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Candidates spar over Martinez’s record
Susana Martinez (left, courtesy photo) and Diane Denish (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
An analysis of the claims Diane Denish makes against Susana Martinez in a new TV ad reveals a complicated situation that has sparked discussion about the accuracy of statistics kept by the state’s Administrative Office of the Courts.
The ad from the Democratic candidate for governor accuses Martinez, Denish’s GOP opponent, of breaking a promise to not plea bargain DWI cases and of having the worst homicide conviction rate in the state as Doña Ana County’s district attorney.
“Susana Martinez won the Republican nomination with sound bites and empty promises, but in reality, she’s been a failed district attorney who doesn’t deserve a promotion,” Denish spokesman Chris Cervini said in a news release.
The claims in the ad, which you can view here, are based on statistics compiled by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) – statistics that, in the case of the homicide conviction rate, Martinez says are wrong.
And AOC Director Arthur Pepin, while being careful to stay away from the political fight between Martinez and Denish, said the statistics can be interpreted in different ways and weren’t intended to be used for political purposes. His office doesn’t use the data it collects to determine conviction rates.
“We’re certainly not going to get in the business of saying this is the lowest conviction rate, because there are different ways of looking at the statistics,” Pepin said.
While Martinez’s campaign is now complaining about the accuracy of the AOC statistics, she has cited the agency’s numbers in the past to defend herself against election-year attacks – most recently to rebut allegations made by the state Democratic Party about her plea bargaining DWI cases.
You can view the statistics compiled by the AOC from July 1998 to June 2009 for all district attorneys here. You can also view the fact sheet the Denish campaign released in support of its new ad here.
The DWI claim
Denish’s ad starts by bringing up allegations already made by the state Democratic Party that Martinez broke a promise to not plea bargain DWI cases. The ad says Martinez has plea bargained more than 800 as district attorney.
The Democratic Party, when it unveiled this allegation last month, trotted out three Democratic county sheriffs to say the stats prove that Martinez has been soft on DWI offenders. Denish’s ad doesn’t accuse Martinez of being soft on crime – only of breaking a promise to not plea bargain cases.
The claim is based on Martinez being quoted by the Las Cruces Sun-News in 2004 as saying her office “will not plea bargain a DWI case. We don’t pretend it is a first or second offense just to move the court docket along.”
The context of Martinez’s statement appears to be that her office won’t plea bargain a felony DWI – a fourth offense or higher – down to a misdemeanor DWI. When the Democrats launched their attack in May, Martinez admitted that she has entered into such plea bargains, but said she did only in “limited cases when a prior DWI cannot be proven, such as when another agency is unable to produce a record of a past conviction or when the evidence does not support the felony DWI.”
So Martinez was quoted as making an absolute statement in 2004 – that she would not plea bargain a felony DWI case down to a misdemeanor – even though in at least “limited” cases she did just that.
The Denish campaign pointed to one 2008 case in which defendant Jamie Cardenas was initially charged with a sixth DWI offense – a felony – but later entered into a deal in which he admitted to a misdemeanor third offense. That happened even though, in the plea and disposition agreement, Cardenas acknowledged that he had five prior DWI convictions.
Denish Campaign Manager Oren Shur said that’s “one example we quickly found.”
“If Susana Martinez was willing to break a campaign pledge on something as serious as being tough on felony DWI offenders, why would New Mexicans believe anything she has to say in this campaign?” he asked.
How many cases were pleaded down to misdemeanors?
The AOC statistics show that Martinez’s office has entered into hundreds of plea bargains in cases involving DWIs over the years. But it’s not clear from the AOC statistics how many of those 800-plus cases were plea bargained down from a felony to a misdemeanor. Though Martinez has said the number is “limited,” neither campaign has provided a figure.
Pepin said any case that includes a DWI charge is listed in the AOC statistics as a DWI case. Those listed as resulting in plea bargains could include two different types of cases:
• Cases in which DWIs are pleaded down from a felony to a misdemeanor offense.
• Cases in which a defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a felony DWI charge in exchange for other charges – such as speeding or not wearing a seatbelt – being dropped.
Doing her own citing of the AOC statistics, Martinez claimed in May that her office has a 90 percent conviction rate on felony DWIs. She said her office has “the lowest plea bargain rate in the state for felony DWIs” among the “major judicial districts.”
‘Soft on crime she is not’
C.J. McElhinney, a Las Cruces defense attorney who has gone up against Martinez’s office in DWI cases, said the Democratic Party’s assertion that Martinez is soft on crime is false. He pointed to the fact that the AOC statistics include cases in which other charges were dropped in exchange for a conviction on a DWI charge.
“I have defended dozens of DUI cases here in Doña Ana County and can tell you that the plea offers extended by Susana’s office are usually horrible for the defense. I don’t think I have ever seen a felony DWI dropped to a misdemeanor here in Doña Ana County,” McElhinney, who describes himself as “no supporter of Susana,” recently wrote in a discussion on Facebook.
“If you want to attack Susana, I’d suggest that you not insinuate she’s soft on crime, because her prosecutorial policies are somewhere between Soviet Russia and the Spanish Inquisition,” he said. “Soft on crime she is not.”
The homicide conviction claim
Denish’s ad also claims that Martinez’s homicide conviction rate is “the worst in New Mexico,” again citing the AOC statistics from July 1998 to June 2009.
For example, the AOC statistics from 2008 show that Martinez’s office won one conviction and entered into two plea bargains in homicide cases. In another case the defendant was acquitted, and one case was dismissed by Martinez’s office.
The Denish campaign interpreted that as Martinez winning convictions in three of five cases, or 60 percent of the time. Using that interpretation, Denish’s campaign said Martinez won convictions in 33 of 55 cases from July 1998 to June 2009 – a rate of 60 percent.
Martinez says the AOC statistics are simply wrong, and to make matters worse they are being misinterpreted by Denish’s campaign. At least one of the cases the AOC lists as “Dismissed by prosecutor” – and that Denish counted against Martinez’s conviction rate – involved a defendant who died before trial.
That case shouldn’t have been counted against Martinez’s conviction rate, her campaign said.
Martinez’s campaign provided a list of what she said were all murder cases in Doña Ana County from 2000-2010 (click here to view it). Of those 79 cases, 40 are still pending. Thirty-five of the other 39 – or 89.7 percent – resulted in convictions, the Martinez campaign said. The other four included two acquittals, one case that was dropped by the DA and one conviction that was reversed on appeal.
“Less than 24 hours into the general election, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish has already launched her first negative and patently false attack against my record,” Martinez said in a news release. “I am not surprised Bill Richardson’s ‘good, loyal soldier’ is not anxious to discuss how she has been at the center of an administration that has produced a massive budget deficit, grown government and perpetuated a culture of corruption.”
‘Different ways to play with the statistics’
The statistics Denish’s campaign is using come from the “Felony Homicide” category AOC uses, which don’t include vehicular homicide. Pepin said he believes the category includes all other types of homicide.
Pepin cautioned that the data “can be moved in different ways,” saying there are “different ways to play with the statistics.” He said his office doesn’t compile statistics for political reasons and is always cautious about responding when they are used for political purposes.
“We’re not running for office,” Pepin said. “We don’t publish the data so that we can make some kind of a political point.”
Pepin initially said he was confident in the accuracy of the AOC statistics, even while he added that they could be interpreted in different ways. After becoming aware of Martinez’s claim that the statistics aren’t accurate, Pepin said there could be mistakes.
“She’s got the files, so she should know what she’s talking about,” he said.
‘The only non-partisan data available’
Responding to Martinez’s claim that the AOC statistics aren’t accurate, Shur, Denish’s campaign manager, was quick to point out that Martinez has cited AOC statistics in the past to defend her record. In addition to referring to them last month in response to the DWI plea bargain situation, Martinez cited the AOC statistics in 2004 to claim that she had a 96 percent conviction rate.
She also defended the statistics when her opponent in that year’s district attorney race claimed her conviction rate wasn’t that high. According to the Las Cruces Sun-News, Martinez said at the time that the Legislature used the AOC statistics in deciding to fund another judgeship in Las Cruces.
“Based on the only non-partisan data available to the public, Susana Martinez has the worst murder conviction rate in the state. That’s without question,” Shur said. “It’s not surprising that she’d want to create a new set of data behind closed doors, but given her pattern of stretching the truth, it’s really hard to trust anything she says about her record.”
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OH NO, Environmental Disaster!!! We’ll end up with Jake Gyllenhaal in the New York Public Library when global warming causes world wide disasters and leads to an ice age. And you liberals think we conservatives have hokey conpiracy theories.
Ms. Martinez is creating a road to political power with the united network of oil and money in New Mexico. She appears to be wedded to the cronyism in which the New Mexico’s political system will become bound to the oil and gas industry. It is scary that she says she is going to fight corruption when she will be establishing a state government controlled by private business interests-Just take her stand against the pit rule which protects the state from environmental disaster. Before the pit rule there were over 1,000 cases of water contamination. In fact Bob Gallagher, former president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, had stated that while the new regulations were tough, but the industry could live with them.
Ms. Martinez has absolutely no political or business experience except for her 17 year tenure at the District Attorney’s office!!!!!!
Ronald Reagan was also a Democrat before he jumped ship, and he didn’t let us down. I like the idea of a hard nosed DA in the Governor’s office. At least she is her own person and doesn’t have experience as being the lapdog of one of the most corrupt governor’s in the history of any state in the union.
How come when the Denish campaign uses the same data that Susanna Martinez uses she and her campaign staff scream like mashed cats? Susanna can’t have it both ways. If the data is bad, then Susanna has been using false claims to support her current and past runs for office.
I find it amazing that Susanna expects voters to support her for Governor when all of her experience is as a government funded prosecutor. The whole argument about how tough she is as a lawyer means absolutely nothing when it comes to running the State of New Mexico. I’m not willing to bet the house on a lawyer with no experience in private industry, or outside of Dona Ana County.
In case everyone forgot, Susanna was a Democrat before she got mad and jumped ship to a Republican.
It is hard to believe that the Republicans nominated the inexperienced Susana Martinez for Governor. Her only work experience is in the District Attorney office since 1993 – that is it, folks. She probably has no idea how the state government operates.
Hemingway, doesn’t that move by the City stem from the battle of City v. Muni Court? There is a lot of animosity there, and the City moved the cases over to get better results…or so I’ve always heard.
I agree that this was a horrible start to the general election. True or not, this ad is quite negative, and has no relevance as to why we should pick Denish.
ThatOne wrote: “How can anyone’s memory be refreshed about someone’s prosecution record, when that someone has never even been a prosecutor?”
Indeed. The facts are that Susana Martinez was first elected District Attorney in 1996 as a Republican, in a district that has long been overwhelmingly Democrat.
She’s been reelected 3 times since then, by people that know her best.
Now, Diane Denish is attempting to smear Martinez’ at her strong points, by attacking her with twisted statistics and semantics. We all know that statistics, like semantics, can and often are used to attempt to create false impressions.
If you can’t see through Denish’s twisted partial truths utilized to create false impressions, and the hyperbole surrounding her statements, I’ll quote Mark Twain to perhaps help you see more clearly:
“Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable.”
Since you don’t seem to like any of my comparisons, let’s go ahead and get back on point.
Other than shape shifting between either cheer-leading and/or sitting on her hands quietly while Bill Richardson and his legislative, spaced out, overblown trolley car and Hollywood cronies all worked hard to raid our general treasury, and our so called ~permanent funds~ too, with all that appearing to have been blown just to pay off political supporters with free flowing public cash, and, to grow government beyond any and all reason, precisely what has Ms. Denish accomplished in the last eight years to show that she deserves another shot at ~serving~ us (?) in any of our highest offices??
Actually as I posted yesterday from January 1, 2000 to June 3, 2010, there have been 79 homicide cases in Doña Ana County, which includes 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder, voluntary/involuntary manslaughter and child abuse resulting in death.
TOTAL CASES: 79
CASES STILL PENDING: 40
CLOSED CASES: 39
NON-CONVICTIONS: 4 (2 not guilty at trial, 1 determined self-defense by District Attorney and dismissed, 1 reversed on appeal)
CONVICTIONS: 35
CONVICTION RATE: 89.7%
These numbers are available at the Doña Ana County Courthouse. The Denish camapign is using smoke and mirrors to create “the worst conviction rate in the state.” Actually it is the best conviction rate in the state. OK, now to experience…Susana is the chief administrator to a county office that serves over 200,000 people. This is executive leadership and she has had to make decisions and stick by them. When it came to to stand up for something, she has. When it came time to oppose something, she has. Denish on the other hand, has remained silent while the “good ol’ boys” like Richardson, Lujan, and Sanchez have run amok.
Just Tex: You’re obviously missing the point. Denish isn’t running for Governor as a tough-on-crime lawyer, Martinez is. The problem for Martinez, as Heath’s article points out, is that when you look at non-partisan statistics that she’s embraced in past, her murder rate is dead last in the state. That’s a major problem for Martinez.
Add to that her broken promise on the DWI plea bargains – and she’s got some explaining to do here. Martinez doesn’t have any experience dealing with 98% of what Governors do – she’s hinged her entire campaign on her experience as a prosecutor.
If her record as a prosecutor has this many holes in it, where does that leave her candidacy?
How can anyone’s memory be refreshed about someone’s prosecution record, when that someone has never even been a prosecutor? Talk about comparing apples to a round rock. About the only thing you can say about em’ is they’re both round.
here is an intersting Sun News story on Ms. Martinez’s handling of jurisdiction in DWI cases. It appears she was taking too much caseload in her office. Please read:
http://www.nacdl.org/public.nsf/defenseupdates/newmexico006?OpenDocument
Both ladies running for office need to start with what they’ve done, Denish started mud slinging immediately. Denish’s silence is her biggest enemy. She needs to show what she has done; using taxpayer dollars to slander candidates is unethical. Since her campaign staff hasn’t found much; they resort to quick attacks; that is until they research Denish’s contribution; which is obviously little. Maybe we should grant all democrats angel wings, since they seem to be on either right or left wings in their ideals.
Martinez is a district attorney and soldier in trenches against crime; Denish stepping on her is an insult to what veterans have done for this country. It isn’t pretty what trenches offer and Denish doesn’t seem to be in them often. These attacks will continue; until she can dig something up, pedestal it, inform the public, take credit, claim it her own; all while it was a soldier’s or citizen idea of how to fix a problem.
This makes her a candidate? If she has done so much for this state; why is taking so long to find what she has done, then promote it? We pay taxes for her to insult an entrenched candidate wanting to improve the same old immunity Denish enjoys! This system of checks and balance needs verification, the Bush presidency proved the electoral system is failing as much the judicial system is, we don’t need a democrat to tell us that. How can she look herself in the mirror in the morning? How many of us would like Jane Fonda in office? Just vote Denish in office, you’ll get locked up sooner, or the Hanoi Hilton may be relocated to Santa Fe. Wait, that’s where Ted Turner owns land, and controls a media circus we tune in daily for? Coincidence?
Let me remind you “JustTex” that the statements were referring to Susana Martinez’s alleged “proven record.” Since she has sold New Mexico to Texas by accepting the largest campaign contribution in New Mexico history, who is the actual criminal here and corrupt political party?
You along with Susana Martinez are the GROUP controlling Republican politics in New Mexico, offering us to view your money-making and illegal activities. You know what I mean, it’s about threats, pay to play, intimidation, election fraud, money laundering, unethical and illegal contracts, abuse of power, unprosecuted violations of State Law, and contracts and deals with members of Congress and the White (under G.W. Bush) by the New Mexico Republican Party!!!
Would somebody please help to refresh my memory, precisely how many DUI criminals has Diane Denish taken on within our courts, convicted and put behind bars?
And while we’re at it, can somebody help to remind me, precisely how many murderers has Diane Denish taken on within our courts, convicted and put behind bars?
How many child molesters has Diane Denish taken on within our courts, convicted and put behind bars?
How many rapist has Diane Denish taken on within our courts, convicted and put behind bars?
How many drug dealers has Diane Denish taken on within our courts, convicted and put behind bars?
How many burglars and home invaders has Diane Denish taken on within our courts, convicted and put behind bars?
How many car thieves has Diane Denish taken on within our courts, convicted and put behind bars?
How many identity thieves has Diane Denish taken on within our courts, convicted and put behind bars?
How many fraudsters and violence prone criminal predators of any kind, has Diane Denish taken on within our courts, convicted and put behind bars?
To the best of my knowledge, the answers to all of those questions above, is precisely and exactly, none!
Now, that’s not to say that Diane Denish hasn’t had plenty of contact with criminals.
However, I’m not at all sure if contact, and perhaps participation and collusion with the numerous criminal elements within her own corrupt political party, count?!