What does the judge have to say about this?

When you hear media reports or read social media about court cases, what is noticeably missing is the judge’s voice. This may lead many to ask, “what does the judge have to say about this?”

Judges are not allowed to talk about specific cases other than when all parties are present and by either oral statements in court or written orders or decisions.

Oral statements usually articulate a judicial decision in either a brief summary or judges may read orders in their entirety. Statements may include words of encouragement to a probationer working through addiction treatment or an admonishment to someone in violation of a court order. Many other examples exist as well.

Written orders and decisions may be very brief and merely state the decision of the court, or may include facts associated with the decision, applicable case law, and an opinion.

Parties can seek additional clarity to either an oral or written statement, but only in the context of the court process.

If a party to a case is dissatisfied with the judge’s decision, they have remedy through appeals to higher courts.

Magistrate and municipal courts are not courts of record, meaning there is no official transcript of the proceedings; the official record is limited to written decisions.

If a party in a magistrate or municipal court wants to appeal, the matter is heard ‘de novo’ or anew at a district court.

District courts are courts of record, where the written decisions as well as the words spoken are available for review. If a party believes that a district court decision is improper in regards to the application of law or court process an appeal can be filed with the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

The Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, in Albuquerque, has some matters that are on the record and others that are not. If on the record then the same rules regarding district courts apply. If not on the record, then a de novo appeal is available.

If judges were to respond directly through either traditional or social media, then those statements may confound the issue. If a judge responds, for example, to a statement from a district attorney without hearing from the defense attorney on the matter, or vice versa, then the response may be perceived as taking one side over the other.

New Mexico has a code of judicial conduct made up of four canons or principles; the first of which guide the other three. Canon 1 reads: “A judge shall uphold and promote the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.”

If a judge comments on a case, whether one of their own or assigned to others, these statements may give an appearance of impropriety, and as such should be avoided.

Additionally, some court orders are quite lengthy and do not conform to a 15 second sound bite or 280-character social media post.

Judges are allowed to speak at service organizations, schools, or write columns such as this one in order to promote a better understanding of the judiciary. Even in these instances, speaking about specific cases is to be avoided.

In small communities, such as Valencia County, it is not unusual to find people who interact with judges in the daily activities of life. These can provide opportunities to speak with a person who happens to be a judge, but conversations about court cases are not allowed.

In years past, I have written about these conversations, which are called ‘ex parte’ or without all parties. While there are some exceptions to the ‘ex parte’ rules, they are very limited. Judges cannot speak to prosecutors or defendants in criminal cases, or plaintiff and respondents in civil matters, or witnesses in general about pending cases without other parties being present in court.

When this does occur, judges will quickly redirect the conversation away and then have a duty to disclose the conversation to all parties. These conversations can result in a delay of proceedings, an excusal of the judge by the parties, or the judge may recuse themselves if they deem it necessary.

You can call a court and find out when hearings are scheduled and you are welcome to attend these hearings. In this way, you will be able to hear from the judge directly as they make decisions based on information and arguments presented.

You can also read the written decisions from both the state Court of Appeals and New Mexico Supreme Court on the website of the state’s official legal publisher at nmonesource.com. These opinions contain summaries of a case and the legal reasoning for the decision, which will likely be more detailed than what you will read elsewhere.

While you may want to hear from a judge directly, my hope is that this column gives you some insight as to why it is best that judges do not publicly speak about their cases.

(Magistrate Judge John R. Chavez is the magistrate in Belen. He is a native of Valencia County and is a retired U.S. Army colonel.)