Griego case assigned to new judge on defense motion

Ninth jurist is last in Santa Fe district

SANTA FE — The public corruption case pending against exstate Sen. Phil Griego has been assigned to its ninth judge, after an attorney for the former lawmaker moved Tuesday to bump District Judge Sarah Singleton off the case.

The latest development in the hot potato case came just one day after Griego — making his first court appearance — pleaded not guilty to 10 criminal counts, including fraud, bribery, perjury and tampering with public records.

After Griego’s attorney, Tom Clark, moved Tuesday to excuse Singleton, the case was assigned to District Judge David Thomson, according to court filings.

Both the prosecution and the defense are typically allowed to strike one judge each in criminal cases without having to provide a reason.

In a Tuesday interview, Clark declined to say specifically why Singleton had been bumped off the case, saying, “We just decided to exercise our right for excusal.”

Attorney General Hector Balderas filed criminal charges in February against Griego, a Democrat from San Miguel County, accusing the longtime senator and former Santa Fe city councilor of using his position as a legislator to make money in a real estate deal. If convicted of all 10 counts, Griego could face up to 28 years in prison and more than $40,000 in fines.

Seven judges in the Santa Febased 1st Judicial District had previously recused themselves from handling the case before it was assigned to Singleton, who like Thomson does not normally handle criminal cases.

Most of those seven judges — Glenn Ellington, Mary Marlowe Sommer, Jennifer Attrep, Matthew Wilson, Sylvia LaMar, Raymond Ortiz and Francis Matthew — haven’t provided explanations, and they aren’t required to do so — they’ve just marked “other good cause” on court recusal forms.

Meanwhile, Thomson is the last remaining judge in the judicial

district who has not been assigned the case. If he were to recuse himself or be similarly bumped off, it would then likely be assigned by the state Supreme Court chief justice to a retired judge or a judge from another district.

Tuesday’s development also means fresh uncertainty about when a preliminary hearing in the Griego case might begin. A tentative May 9 start date for the multi-day hearing had been set earlier this week.