Prosecutors asking state for 20 percent bigger budget

District attorneys say they struggle to keep experienced professionals on staff

New Mexico’s district attorneys and public defenders are asking for a nearly 20 percent increase in their budgets amid high turnover and sometimes towering caseloads in a state where crime has become a watercooler discussion topic.

Prosecutors made their pitch for funding to lawmakers at the Roundhouse on Thursday as New Mexico continues to notch some of the highest crime rates in the country. But the request for an additional $14.3 million also comes as state officials anticipate a budget surplus resulting largely from an oil boom.

The state’s 14 district attorneys and their administrative office will get a budget of about $73.1 million from New Mexico’s general fund this fiscal year, according to the state District Attorneys Association.

Prosecutors want to raise that to $87.3 million in the fiscal year that begins in July. That increase would include a 5.5 percent addition, or $318,200, in the budget of Santa Fe’s district attorney.

First Judicial District Attorney Marco Serna said he has 32 lawyers on staff, including himself, and 28 have left in the time since he took office after the 2016 election.

“We have trouble keeping attorneys with two to five years’ experience or up,” the first-term district attorney told members of the Legislative Finance Committee.

Other district attorneys lamented the challenges of recruiting in far-flung corners of the state.

One example: Carrizozo.

“When you’re trying to recruit professionals to a four-way stop and an Allsup’s, it’s difficult,” said 12th Judicial District Attorney John Sugg.

Legislators ramped up funding for district attorneys this year, providing pay raises for prosecutors and public defenders. The current state budget also includes an outsize share of funds for the district attorney in Albuquerque, a city that has seen crime spike in recent years.

Second Judicial District Attorney Raúl Torrez told lawmakers the funds are making a difference, pointing to dropping crime rates in Albuquerque.

But that has stirred debate and sometimes ire among lawmakers from outside the state’s biggest city, who point to higher crime rates in their communities, such as Gallup, Española and Taos.

Meanwhile, the oil boom in New Mexico’s section of the Permian Basin has brought a share of crime to that corner of the state.

“Oil and gas is a wonderful thing when you have plenty of it, but whenever you have a little boom like we have in southeastern New Mexico, I promise you it does cause a problem in the court,” said Sen. Carroll Leavell, R-Jal.

Some lawmakers have questioned whether prosecutors’ caseloads are unnecessarily exacerbated by the prosecution of nonviolent offenders or those who have committed other petty crimes.

The Law Offices of the Public Defender, which also has struggled with high caseloads and turnover, is asking for a 20 percent increase in its budget, or an additional $10.3 million.

Much of that funding would go to improve data sharing between criminal justice agencies, hire more attorneys, recruit more support staff to curb recidivism, and set up a unit to handle complex cases around the state.

Legislative aides and Gov.-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham may factor these requests into the separate budget proposals they will roll out in early January. The Legislature will then convene Jan. 15 for 60 days.