Judge who jailed 32 won't be suspended

SANTA FE (KRQE) - The judge who had more 30 people rounded up in his courtroom and improperly hauled off to jail for a weekend is catching a break.

On Monday the state Supreme Court said it did not want the judge suspended without pay because he's too valuable.

District Judge Sam Sanchez is the chief judge in Taos, and his court is one of the busiest in the state.

Even Sanchez has conceded he made a big mistake in November.

"He had abused his contempt power and improperly deprived 32 individuals of their liberty by illegally holding them," Robin Hammer with the state Judicial Standards Commission said.

During a sentencing hearing for a child rapist, members of Taos Pueblo became rowdy because they thought the sentence was too harsh.

Sanchez had them all arrested. But never held arraignment hearings for them or had any intention of letting them out of jail over a weekend.

They only got out after the Supreme Court intervened.

The Judicial Standards Commission presented its recommendation for Sanchez's punishment to the Supreme Court on Monday. The commission and Sanchez had reached a deal for him to take September off without pay.

September is usually a relatively slow month for Sanchez's court, and Sanchez already had a week of vacation scheduled.

Because Sanchez already took a month off earlier this year to go to Europe, the Supreme Court felt like that was just too much time away from the bench.

The Supreme Court justices unanimously told the commission to come up with a different punishment, possibly a fine.

"I'm concerned it's the public and the cause of justice that will suffer by pulling a judge off the bench for a month," Chief Justice Charles Daniels said.

The Supreme Court also told the commission those 32 people who were unfairly arrested and detained should have a say in the punishment.

The Supreme Court says Sanchez's district is already understaffed, according to the Supreme Court, which said it only has two judges when it should have five.

Sanchez said his district does not have the money to hire a replacement judge if he's suspended for a month.