Sen. Martinez denied jury trial in drunkendriving case
Lawmaker’s drunken-driving case will be heard by a judge
State Sen. Richard Martinez’s drunken-driving case will be heard by a judge rather than by a jury, a district judge ruled this week.
State District Judge Francis Mathew, citing legal precedent, said defendants aren’t entitled to jury trials unless they are facing at least a year in prison.
Martinez’s two-day bench trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 19 in Tierra Amarilla.
Martinez, D-Ojo Caliente, is charged with aggravated DWI and reckless driving stemming from a June 28 crash. Driving his 2010 Mercedes SUV, he rear-ended a Jeep that was stopped at an Española traffic signal.
Both charges are misdemeanors carrying maximum sentences of 90 days.
The senator’s refusal to submit to a breath test prompted the aggravated DWI charge.
A police video made after the crash shows the senator admitting to drinking before the wreck. First he said he had a few beers. Then he told officers he actually drank three glasses of wine.
Last month, the office of Attorney General Hector Balderas, which is prosecuting the case, modified the criminal complaint against Martinez to include an alternative charge of aggravated DWI resulting in “bodily injury.”
Both Martinez and the occupants of the Jeep — Johnny and Gerrie Sisneros — were taken to the hospital after the wreck.
A spokesman for Balderas said Friday that Mathew also denied another motion by Martinez to throw out the amended complaint.
In early July, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham publicly called on Martinez to think about the “message” the incident sends to the community.
However, neither the governor nor his fellow legislators have called on Martinez to resign. His fellow senators have declined to comment on the case.
Martinez, a former magistrate judge who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said he won’t resign and has said the incident will make him a better senator.
First elected in 2000, Martinez is running for a sixth term this year. He has no challengers.