SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Following a car crash and a DWI arrest, Judge Dev Atma Singh Khalsa has been suspended without pay by the New Mexico Supreme Court. Khalsa was elected as a Santa Fe County Magistrate judge in November 2022.
According to documents filed with the state’s Supreme Court, Khalsa lost control of his vehicle in I-25 on February 26, 2023. No one else was involved in the incident.
Police body cam footage obtained by the Santa Fe New Mexican shows that Khalsa was taken to the hospital, where he appeared to not remember recent events. The footage also reveals that the officer thought Khalsa smelled like alcohol. Khalsa was charged with aggravated DWI.
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Khalsa was booked on February 26, 2023. He was released the same day. Photo from Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility.
According to a criminal complaint, Khalsa refused alcohol testing and also had an expired driver’s license. After a visit to the hospital, the judge was booked at the Santa Fe County Detention Center.
Following the incident, the New Mexico Supreme Court suspended Khalsa with pay. Then the New Mexico’s Judicial Standards Commission asked for suspension without pay. They filed paperwork noting that the judge “may have committed willful misconduct in office which seriously interferes with his ability to fulfill his judicial responsibilities.”
Khalsa responded by admitting that he lost control of his vehicle but has pled ‘not guilty’ to the DWI charge. And Khalsa’s lawyer has argued that the decision to suspend without pay is based on “incomplete investigations and unsubstantiated conclusions by Santa Fe law enforcement officers.”
But the New Mexico Supreme Court has ordered Khalsa to be suspended immediately without pay. Khalsa will remain suspended until the state’s Supreme Court orders otherwise.
KRQE News 13 called the Santa Fe Municipal Court to learn about the current status of the DWI charges. We were unable to reach the court before publication.
