GALLUP, N.M. —
McKinley County District Attorney Bernadine Martin has been under fire for her low prosecution rates and high caseloads. She is now coming under fire for what she has been doing outside of the DA’s office.
Target 7 has obtained a document showing that she had appeared in the Navajo Nation Family Court, which some say could be a violation of state law.
“There are laws in New Mexico that say that an elected district attorney cannot practice law privately,” said KOAT Legal Expert John Day. “The reason behind the law prohibiting them from having a private law practice is, first of all, their obligation is first and foremost to the people of their district, the people who elected them, the voters. But secondly, if you’re a district attorney with that amount of power and you’re engaging in a private-law practice, it’s the appearance of impropriety.”
Last month, the Legislature de-funded District Attorney Martin’s office, and now the San Juan County DA has taken over.
The court hearing occurred in February 2023. At the time, Martin had already been in office for two years. She was arguing that one of the parties owed her client attorney’s fees in the tune of $2,900.
The order to pay attorney fees was made in 2018, before Martin was elected. The judge ruled in her client’s favor.
“One of the issues here is that apparently she was practicing law in the Navajo Tribal Court,” Day said. “The law doesn’t specifically prohibit that, but it does say that elected district attorneys cannot have a private law practice on the side.”
