LC magistrate retroactively suspended

LAS CRUCES (AP) - A recently resigned Las Cruces judge has been suspended without pay.

The New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission filed an emergency petition Tuesday to temporarily suspend Magistrate Court Judge Joseph Guillory retroactively on Aug. 13.

Guillory has announced his resignation.

Guillory was on supervised probation after a Jan. 6 order disciplining him. He was being investigated for talking about active cases during smoke breaks, falling asleep on the bench, yelling at a defendant and calling presiding Judge Oscar Frietze "a fat head."

Guillory has characterized the allegations as part of a potentially bankrupting and politically motivated smear campaign by two other judges and a clerk.

Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News