Today, in the case of Johnson v. Bd. of Educ. for Albuquerque Pub. Schs., S-1-SC-39961 (2025), the New Mexico Supreme Court has held that public schools are “public accommodations” for purposes of the New Mexico Human Rights Act, and that students in public schools...
An article authored by members of the HM legal team has been published in a special issue of the New Mexico Law Review. The article, titled A New Jurisprudence of Constitutional Duty, addresses a subset of constitutional “failure to protect” claims that have historically been constrained by the United States Supreme Court’s holdings in DeShaney v. Winnebago County Dept. of…
Albuquerque, New Mexico – Sandra Lente, the personal representative of the estate of her daughter April Peterson, represented by Huffman & Monagle, LLC, has filed a lawsuit against the Board of CountyCommissioners for the County of Bernalillo. The lawsuit alleges severe negligence and violation of civil rights that led to the tragic and preventable death of Ms. Peterson in the…
Albuquerque, New Mexico – Seven members of the APD Academy training staff – Steve Martinez, Tillery Stahr, Lisa Neil, Shane Treadaway, Alix Emrich, James Jacoby, and Kelsey Lueckenhoff – have filed a lawsuit inthe Second Judicial District Court, alleging violations of the Whistleblower Protection Act in the form of retaliation motivated by nepotism. The lawsuit originates from a series of…
The New Mexico Supreme Court has issued an opinion cautioning against the use of the term “and/or” in jury instructions, writing that “[t]he term and/or has proved singularly unsuited to formulating clear and effective jury instructions, to the degree that our trial courts would be well-served to avoid its use in jury instructions altogether.” In its opinion in State v. Taylor, S-1-SC-38818…
A lawsuit filed in New Mexico’s First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe accuses CYFD and the Bair Foundation of failing to protect a five-year-old boy from physical and sexual abuse in a treatment foster care home. The victim, referred to only as “A.T.,” is alleged to have suffered this abuse at the hands of two treatment foster care parents…
In a per curiam ruling on March 4, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed the decision of the Colorado Supreme Court to remove Donald Trump from the Colorado primary ballot on the basis of his engagement in insurrection under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The decision to reverse – while hardly unexpected…
A survivor of clergy sexual abuse perpetrated by an Archdiocese of Santa Fe priest named Fr.Richard Spellman has filed a motion to force the Archdiocese of Santa Fe to fulfill a promise made to survivors as a condition of its exit from bankruptcy proceedings. As a condition of its exit from bankruptcy proceedings in 2023, the Archdiocese promised abuse survivors…
On December 19, 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court issued a 133-page opinion finding that Donald J. Trump was properly disqualified from the Colorado presidential primary ballot by Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment (commonly known as the “Disqualification Clause”). The Court’s full opinion (including dissents) may be found here. The effort to protect the Colorado ballot from insurrectionist influence was spearheaded…
Since 2010, public employees and contractors have enjoyed protection from unlawful retaliation if they report “unlawful or improper acts” (i.e., whistleblowing) occurring at their workplace. The New Mexico Whistleblower Protection Act prohibits a public employer from taking any retaliatory action against a public employee for communicating to their employer, or a third party, information about an action or failure to…