Educate yourself on judges and vote

Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.”

It’s easy to decide not to vote in elections where you don’t know much about the candidate. This is particularly true in elections where judges are standing for retention. After all, they typically don’t have a website, they’re not out campaigning, and they don’t even have an opponent. Unless you know the judge or have been in their courtroom, you are not even likely to recognize their name.

That’s where the New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission can help. In 1997, the New Mexico Supreme Court created New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission to provide useful, credible information to voters on judges standing for retention. These judges have won a partisan election and have been on the bench for at least two years. By state law, judges standing for retention must receive 57 percent voter approval to remain on the bench.

The commission is made up of 15 members, including seven lawyers and eight non-lawyers. We use an objective, carefully monitored process to evaluate the overall performance of judges standing for retention in four main areas:

Legal ability.

Fairness.

Communication skills.

Preparation, attentiveness, temperament and control over proceedings.

Confidential surveys are distributed to people who have regular contact with the judges. The commission also receives statistics from the Administrative Office of the Courts for individual judges regarding caseloads, excusals and the time it takes to get cases resolved. Sometimes we also send court observers to observe and comment on the judge’s actions in court.

We conduct evaluations for each judge twice. Midway through his or her term on the bench, we conduct a confidential evaluation for the purpose of helping the judge assess their performance and identify any areas that need improvement. A second evaluation is done before the general election to see if the judge has made improvement in any areas of weakness identified earlier, and also to again assess his or her overall performance.

This year, there is only one judge standing for retention statewide. The commission recommends that Judge J. Miles Hanisee of the New Mexico Court of Appeals be retained. Among those surveyed, 80 percent of attorneys, 73 percent of court staff, 100 percent of appellate judges and 90 percent of district judges recommended that Judge Hanisee be retained. For full details on Judge Hanisee’s evaluation, visit www.nmjpec.org or call 800-687-3417.

The commission has done its part to provide you with education on the judge standing for retention. Now it’s up to you. Please take the time to go all the way through the ballot you are given and vote in all elections for which you are eligible — including the judicial retention election. You ultimately decide whether Judge J. Miles Hanisee stays on the bench. Make your vote count.

Denise Torres is an attorney in Las Cruces. She has been a member of the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission since 2008 and was appointed chairwoman in 2011. James Hall is a former District Court judge in the First Judicial District who now practices law in Santa Fe. He has been a member of JPEC since 2009 and was appointed vice chairman in 2011.

The commission has done its part to provide you with education on the judge standing for retention. Now it’s up to you.