AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

• A complaint was filed against Hon. Deseri Sichler, a magistrate court judge in Valencia County, for willful misconduct related to her 2022 campaign for Valencia County Magistrate Court Judge. The misconduct included acting as her own campaign treasurer, accepting funds on behalf of her campaign, listing an individual as her campaign treasurer without his consent, and failing to remove him upon withdrawal of his consent. Additionally, Judge Sichler listed herself as the sole contact for her campaign committee, using her personal contact information for campaign purposes (paras 3, 4).

Procedural History

• [Not applicable or not found]

Parties' Submissions

• Petitioner (The New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission): Argued that Judge Sichler committed willful misconduct by violating several rules of the Code of Judicial Conduct, including failing to comply with election campaign laws and failing to establish a proper campaign committee (para 3).
• Respondent (Hon. Deseri Sichler): Admitted to the willful misconduct and violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct as stipulated in the agreement with the Commission (para 4).

Legal Issues

• Whether Judge Sichler's actions during her 2022 campaign for Valencia County Magistrate Court Judge constituted willful misconduct in violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct (paras 3-4).

Disposition

• Judge Sichler is publicly censured for her admitted willful misconduct as set forth in the Stipulation accepted, adopted, and confirmed by the Court (para 15).

Reasons

• The Court, consisting of Chief Justice David K. Thomson, Justices Michael E. Vigil, C. Shannon Bacon, Julie J. Vargas, and Briana H. Zamora, unanimously agreed that Judge Sichler's conduct constituted willful misconduct. The Court found that Judge Sichler violated Rules 21-101, 21-102, 21-402, and 21-404 of the Code of Judicial Conduct by not complying with election campaign laws and failing to uphold the public’s confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judicial election process. The Court emphasized the importance of maintaining public confidence in the judiciary and the necessity of judges to act in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary. The decision to issue a public censure was based on the stipulated facts, the violations admitted by Judge Sichler, and the principles of judicial conduct that require judges to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in both their professional and personal lives (paras 5-14).