By admin / April 24, 2025
In The Matter of Victor R. Marshall, the New Mexico Supreme Court permanently disbarred Mr. Victor Marshall, a respected attorney in New Mexico. (S-1-SC-37698, July 14, 2023.)
This is part two of a two part article. Part one explores the importance of the judicial ethics. Part two explores the specifics of Mr. Marshall’s case.
1. Background
The Victor Marshall saga involves a long-standing case in New Mexico known as the “San Juan River Adjudication” cases. D-1116-CV-7500184. Dating from at least 1984, if not before, the San Juan River Adjudication dealt with the question of who owns the water from the San Juan River. The San Juan River is a tributary of the Colorado River and flows through the four corners states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. The Navajo Nation is a claimant to the water from the San Juan River, which flows, in part, through the Navajo Nation.
2. Judge James J. Wechsler’s Order in favor of the Navajo Nation
On August 16, 2013, judge James A Wechsler granted Summary Judgment on behalf of the Navajo Nation in the San Juan River Adjudication cases. According to an emergency motion filed by attorney Victor Marshall, Judge Wechsler granted the Navajo Nation an amount of water “roughly one quarter of all the
stream water in the entire State of New Mexico. It is more than six times the amount of water used by the Albuquerque metropolitan area, and twice as much as the City of Phoenix.” According to the emergency motion, Judge Wechsler also disregarded applicable law and prevailing standards in granting his order in favor of the Navajo Nation. Emergency Motion, filed February 26, 2018.