Mr. Victor Marshall and the dishonesty of the New Mexico Supreme Court. (Part 2 of 2)
In July 2023, the New Mexico Supreme Court (NMSC) disbarred a respected New Mexico attorney, Mr. Victor Marshall, for raising a judicial ethics conflict in one of his cases. (“The Matter of Victor R. Marshall,” NM Docket No. S-1-SC-37698).
The disbarment of Mr. Marshall by the NMSC was dishonest and dishonorable. Also, it will likely have a chilling effect on judicial accountability in the state. Moreover, it shows the increasing political corruption of the NMSC.
This part, part two, explores the specifics of Mr. Marshall’s disbarment. Go back to part one to read about judicial ethics basics.
1. Background
The Victor Marshall disciplinary case arises out a series of water law cases in New Mexico known as the “San Juan River Adjudication” cases. (NM Docket No. D-1116-CV-7500184) These cases deal with who is entitled to the water from the San Juan River, which is a tributary of the Colorado River. The San Juan River flows through the “four corner” states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.
In the western United States, water rights is a hot-button political issue, because water rights are crucial for residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural uses. This hot-button political backdrop forms the basis for the New Mexico Supreme Court’s dishonest disbarment of Mr. Marshall.
2. The unusual order by Judge Wechsler in favor of the Navajo Nation
In the “San Juan River Adjudication” cases, the Navajo Nation claims ownership, among others, to the water from the San Juan River, because the San Juan river flows, at least in part, through the Navajo Nation.
On August 16, 2013, Judge James A. Wechsler granted Summary Judgment in favor of the Navajo Nation in the San Juan River Adjudication cases, which is a very significant legal decision for a judge to make. In essence, in most situations, granting summary judgment means, “you win.” In this case, it meant that the Navajo Nation was declared the owner of a significant portion of the water from the San Juan River.
However, this order granting summary judgment in favor of the Navajo Nation was unusual, for at least three reasons.
First, the scope of the order. According to an “emergency motion” filed by attorney Victor Marshall, Judge Wechsler granted the Navajo Nation an enormous 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.” (Emergency Motion, filed February 26, 2018)
Secondly, according to Mr. Marshall’s emergency motion, Judge Wechsler also disregarded applicable law and prevailing standards in granting his order in favor of the Navajo Nation.
Lastly, summary judgments are strongly disfavored under New Mexico law. A “summary judgment” means that a judge makes the final decision in a case, rather than a jury. In fact, the New Mexico Supreme Court itself has held that, “Summary judgment is an extreme remedy that should be imposed with caution.” Ocana v. American Furniture Co., 2004-NMSC-018, ¶ 22.
3. Judge Weschler’s connections with the Navajo Nation.
Following Judge Weschler’s problematic granting of summary judgment in favor of the Navajo Nation, Victor Marshall, one of the attorneys in the case, discovered very questionable connections between Judge Weschler and the Navajo Nation, who the judge had just ruled in favor of.