Martinez in court
Chair of judiciary committee was charged with aggravated DWI, reckless driving
State senator, who chairs judiciary committee, says he plans to stay in office even if he’s convicted in DWI crash.
Sen. Richard Martinez said Thursday he would remain in the Legislature if he were to be convicted of aggravated DWI and reckless driving.
“Yes I would,” Martinez responded after a hearing in District Court when asked if he would remain a senator under that scenario.
Martinez added that he can continue as chair of the Senate judiciary committee.
“Of course I can,” said Martinez, 66, D-Ojo Caliente. “This is probably going to make me a better senator.”
Martinez spoke as he was leaving a court hearing presided over by First Judicial District Judge Bryan Biedscheid of Santa Fe County, who was assigned to the case last month.
Biedscheid is the sixth District Court judge to be assigned to hear Martinez’s case. Three district judges already have recused themselves and another two were excused by attorneys from each side.
The judge disclosed in the hearing what he called his “limited dealings” with Martinez. He said he was prepared to take the case and believed he could be “fair and impartial.”
Biedscheid disclosed he spoke with Martinez earlier this year when he was seeking out conversations with elected politicians to ask for advice about running for office, which the judge was doing for the first time.
“I met with him on the floor of the Senate for five minutes thinking later I’d be able to talk with him about guidance on connecting with voters,” Biedscheid said.
The judge said if the defense or prosecution believes he cannot be impartial, they have one week to request he recuse himself, and the judge would grant such a request.
“My internal assessment is I’m not biased for or against Mr. Martinez,” the judge said. “The point of this disclosure is to make sure everyone understands my limited dealings with Sen. Martinez.”
Martinez was charged with aggravated DWI and reckless driving after he was accused of rear-ending a Jeep at an Española intersection June 28.
The judges who have recused themselves from the case are District Judges Matthew J. Wilson, Sylvia LaMar and T. Glenn Ellington.
Three county magistrates and District Attorney Marco Serna also recused themselves from Martinez’s case. Later, attorneys from both sides — the state Attorney General’s Office and Martinez’s attorney, David Foster — preemptively excused district judges Jason Lidyard and Mary Marlowe Sommer.