The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has scheduled the execution of Lezmond Mitchell—a Navajo man who is the sole Native American on federal death row—for August 26, 2020. Over the past two decades, the DOJ has zealously pursued the execution of Mitchell despite the objections of th...
Rothstein Donatelli stands with survivors of priest sexual abuse in their fight to clean up the Catholic Church and to hold the institutions responsible for sheltering pedophiles and providing them access to the children of New Mexico accountable to the fullest extent. After decades of suffering ...
Investigative journalist Jeff Proctor reached out to Cammie Nichols to discuss the use of force by security guards to gain an understanding of whether they have any of the same privileges as law enforcement. The answer is in the following article: Investigators from two different law enforc...
On July 9, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a major victory for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in the case of McGirt v. Oklahoma, No. 18-9526. The Court ruled that the Creek Nation's reservation was not diminished by Congress, and so the state of Oklahoma lacked criminal jurisdiction over crim...
Open government is a foundational pillar of democracy which is reflected in New Mexico's public records laws. The courts have made clear that governmental entities may not escape their duties to the public to provide access to public records by simply contracting their public roles and responsibi...
Rothstein Donatelli attorneys have always been involved in institutional reform efforts, whether through class action litigation or legislative activities. For over twenty years, Mark Donatelli has been chosen for the New Mexico Sentencing Commission through appointment by the Speaker of the NM H...
Although everyone knows the Catholic Church became a refuge for child molesters at times, unfortunately, institutional protection of child molesters extends far beyond just the Catholic Church to other local, national and global religious organizations and other institutions parents entrusted wit...
The most crucial moments in defending any criminal case often occur in the initial days of proceedings. The choices made and actions taken by the defense in those times can shape the trajectory of the entire case and often represent the difference between a favorable outcome and one that negative...
Rothstein Donatelli continues to be at the forefront of every survivors' fight to hold Church leaders accountable for unleashing vast numbers of pedophile priests into the communities of New Mexico. In this case, our survivors' rights team is prosecuting claims involving one of the most notoriou...
Rothstein Donatelli is proud to announce that partner Marc M. Lowry has been selected by the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association as the 2020 recipient of the Charles Driscoll Award. The Charles Driscoll Award is presented each year to a criminal defense attorney who has "fought dilige...
Child molesting teacher sued by 10th accuser Despite obstacles to coming forward, another survivor of sexual abuse seeks justice against Gary Gregor, the former teacher who assaulted her when she was in the fourth grade. The lawsuit, filed in April, 2020, also includes claims against Ruby Montoy...
Tribes Win Preliminary Injunction Preventing COVID-19 Funding From Being Diverted to Corporations On April 27, 2020, a group of Indian tribes that includes Picuris Pueblo and the Navajo Nation (Rothstein Donatelli represents Picuris Pueblo and is co-counsel with the Navajo Nation Department of...
Lawyers for prisoners facing high ...
On April 10, 2020, attorneys representing the plaintiff class members in the Duran case filed an emergency motion to enforce the good time award provisions in the settlement agreement that was approved by the Court on February 14, 2020. The settlement agreement requires the New Mexico Correcti...
On February 14, 2020, United States Magistrate Judge Kirtan Khalsa granted final approval of a new settlement agreement in the long-running Duran case. The settlement agreement seeks to reduce overcrowding in New Mexico prisons by: Providing 50 square feet of living and sleeping space to al...
Another survivor of sexual abuse at the hands of Gary Gregor steps forward to reclaim her power after years of silent suffering. The student was assaulted during Gregor's last year as a “teacher” at Espanola, long after the adults knew what he was doing and shamefully failed to protect her and ot...
The law firm of Rothstein Donatelli and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) have joined forces in a lawsuit to enforce the rights of Native American high school students to wear traditional and religious regalia at their high school graduation ceremonies. Last year, Larissa Waln (Sisseton Wa...
For decades, Rothstein Donatelli has been a leader in protecting the rights of incarcerated persons and their families. Our attorneys' legal actions have made the lives of countless incarcerated safer through large cases, such as the Duran and McClendon Consent Decrees monitoring the New Mexico D...
On Monday, March 23, 2020, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham directed New Mexico Secretary of Health Kathyleen Kunkel to issue “Public Health Emergency Order Closing All Businesses and Non-Profit Entities Except for those Deemed Essential and Providing Additional Restrictions on Mass Ga...
Ensuring the safety of children in our community is a high priority. When predators are put in positions of power over children, children suffer. To the extent our work creates change and makes school districts exercise responsibility in who they hire, we consider that a victory. This is one m...
Q: Am I eligible for expungement if I was charged with a DWI, but the case was dismissed? A: Yes! Under the New Mexico Criminal Records Expungement Act, people who have been charged with a crime, but not convicted -- that is, their case was dismissed, they received a condi...
For generations of New Mexican families, the Boy Scouts were seen as a safe harbor to develop the character, morality and skills necessary for a lifetime of civic duty. For many, the Scouts failed to live up to their high ideals and the leaders they sheltered were wolves in sheep's clothing. Coun...
Facing thousands of sexual-abuse lawsuits filed by former scouts, the Boy Scouts of America (“BSA”) has filed for bankruptcy. Through bankruptcy, the BSA will establish a fund to compensate survivors of sexual abuse at the hand of BSA employees and volunteers. Survivors will have a limited time i...
Gathering the necessary paperwork to petition the court to clear a criminal record takes time and New Mexico courts are bracing for incoming expungement petitions. This new law now in effect is poised to offer many New Mexicans the opportunity to clear their names. To read the full story.
Lessons of 1980 riot haven't been fully learned By Mark Donatelli Feb 1, 2020 As a law student in 1976, I investigated prisoner claims of cruel and unusual punishment at the Penitentiary of New Mexico south of Santa Fe, ranging from brutal beatings by guards to torture of mentally ill prisone...
