Brent Detsoi Removed

Brent Detsoi, a McKinley County, New Mexico Magistrate judge, was removed from the bench by the New Mexico Supreme Court after the state's Judicial Standards Commission found he committed 23 separate violations of the Judicial Code of Conduct. The Commission found Detsoi willfully engaged in misconduct in at least 13 documented cases by personally raising jurisdictional issues during criminal arraignments and then dismissing prosecutions once he determined the defendants were Native American — testimony during the disciplinary hearing indicated Detsoi dismissed as many as 63 criminal prosecutions under similar circumstances. The violations also included denying due process to multiple defendants and retaliation. The court's order permanently bars Detsoi from ever holding judicial office or exercising any judicial authority in New Mexico again, extending even to officiating weddings.