Randi McGinn: Boyd case a ‘baby step’ for justice
Special prosecutor calls Boyd case a ‘baby step’ for justice Editor’s note: Today the Journal launches a new feature in which Senior Editor Kent Walz sits down with local newsmakers.
Fifteen minutes. That’s how long special prosecutor Randi McGinn says she thought it would take a district court jury to come back with an acquittal in the historic case of two Albuquerque police officers charged with murder in the shooting death of a mentally ill, homeless camper after a standoff in the Sandia Foothills.
“It’s not because we had a bad jury or bad evidence,” said McGinn, Albuquerque attorney and one of the nation’s top plaintiff’s trial lawyers.
“It’s because it was the first prosecution of a police officer in years. My thought was, since it was the first we would lose it, but the city would see it would be easier next time.”
“Justice takes baby steps sometimes,” she said in a Journal interview, referring to the long line of cases leading up to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down racial segregation in schools.
“We are taking baby steps towards holding police fully accountable if they kill someone wrongfully. I saw this as a baby step towards justice.”
The case was the first in memory in which an APD officer had been charged with murder in a shooting that occurred in the line of duty.
The irony isn’t lost on McGinn that some 33 years ago as a young assistant DA she prosecuted Joel Compton for the murder of APD officer Gerald Cline. The prosecution won that case. Compton was convicted and was on death row before his death sentence was commuted by then-Gov. Toney Anaya.
History will record that McGinn’s prediction in the case of State of New Mexico v. officers Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez on murder charges in the death of James Boyd was closer to right than wrong. After nine days of trial and 17 hours of deliberation, the jury reported it was deadlocked 9-3 in favor of acquittal. District Judge Alissa Hadfield then declared a mistrial.
McGinn subsequently dismissed charges against Perez, who was fired when charged but who is now in talks with the city to get his job back. Sandy, a retired detective, won’t face charges either after incoming District Attorney Raúl Torrez announced he would not refile charges.
Torrez first had the case reviewed by other prosecutors around the state and said there was no reason to think the prosecution case could be presented more effectively than McGinn and her office had.
Fear factor
With the Boyd case in the rear view mirror, McGinn agreed to talk about it in a Journal interview in her Albuquerque law office.
Why would she take a case like his — especially given her view of prospects for success?
“Because nobody else would do it. When Kari called and asked I said absolutely not — you need a real prosecutor, not somebody who sues police officers. But all the other DAs and the AG all said ‘no.’ How’s that for guts. They all said they didn’t have resources, etc., but the implication was they didn’t want cops coming after them like they went after her.”
Then-District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said APD retaliated against her by launching an investigation into her involvement in a burglary investigation of her son. APD recommended she be charged. Attorney General Hector Balderas said Brandenburg’s conduct wasn’t criminal, but he was critical of her actions.
So did the police come after McGinn?
No, and neither did anyone else.
There were no threats. None. There was one nasty letter after the mistrial. In fact, people were supportive and appreciative.
“When I took the case, my cop friends — and by the way I don’t hate cops — asked if Kari was going to provide me with bodyguards.
“I said I’m not getting bodyguards. I’m not wearing body armor. I’m not doing any of that. If I’m wrong and somebody comes after me, we have a worse problem than I thought.
“I choose not to be afraid.” she said. “That’s what caused all this to begin with. Cops afraid of a homeless guy, and the homeless guy afraid of the cops.”
McGinn also says she believes the prosecution of Sandy and Perez has changed the way APD does business — making officers more cautious in their use of deadly force.
“Police officers are no longer going to get a pass when they shoot somebody, and if they (the state) decide to prosecute, they will prosecute to the hilt ... not like what was happening for years with these fake grand juries where nobody ever presented any evidence against the cops.”
Until the practice was stopped by state district court, prosecutors had for years used special grand juries to review police shootings — a process that never resulted in charges against an officer.
McGinn acknowledged “there are times when police officers have to shoot bad people,” but said the pendulum toward use of deadly force swung too far after a mentally ill man named John Hyde killed five people during a rampage in 2005, including veteran APD officers Michael King and Richard Smith.
Even in her prosecution of Sandy and Perez, McGinn expressed sympathy for Perez.
“I think Dom Perez walked into a bad situation that someone else made, but
(he) ultimately made the wrong decision and shot him (Boyd) in the back. Under the circumstances, I couldn’t be the one to let him go ... I thought a jury needed to decide that.”
“But as you could tell from my cross examination, I had great respect for Dom Perez and what he’s done — his military service and what he has done on the force.”
“After the mistrial, I dismissed the charges against him, because his role was less than Sandy’s.”
Last word
When McGinn agreed to take the case, she said Brandenburg called and told her that she had $56,000 available to pay her.
“I said if I’m gonna do it for free (in her world $56K for a major trial that involved her entire firm is basically free), let’s make a point. I’ll do it for what contract public defenders are paid for a first-degree felony.” That’s $5,400 plus costs.
For McGinn, making points and sending messages is important.
Asked what is the “one thing” the community should take away from the first murder prosecution of an APD officer in memory?
“It is important that nobody be above the law. Nobody.”