SoS Under Fire

It was a sparsely attended arraignment, in which Duran, a two-term Republican, was advised of the charges, which included felony counts of money laundering and mismanagement of funds.

Legal teams sparred back and forth with motions that mostly went in favor of the state attorney general's office, as Duran sat by silently, occasionally consulting with her attorney Erlinda Johnson, in a 40-minute proceeding before Judge T Glenn Ellington.

No, the case shouldn't be heard in another courtroom or a different jurisdiction, Ellington ruled, something Johnson asked at the outset of the proceeding.

No, it's not possible to keep Duran from directly accessing state funds, a restriction that Assistant Attorney General Joseph Spindle sought.

OK, Duran shouldn't be allowed to enter any casinos or gaming establishments while she's fighting the charges. She also shouldn't use drugs or drink alcohol.

And the list of conditions for Duran's release on personal recognizance continued: She'll have to let the court know 72 hours in advance if she wants to leave New Mexico.

Then this, perhaps the most important of all: Duran is still the secretary of state. She's "innocent until proven guilty," Ellington emphasized, bottom line. But as she carries out her daily duties, she's not to discuss her case with her staff, or vice versa.

And with these new sets of rules to live by, Duran, the first Republican to hold the office in 80 years, walked out the side door of the courtroom, without officially speaking in court.

It was her first public appearance since the charges were levied against her in late August, in what some are claiming is a politically motivated attack by Attorney General Hector Balderas, a Democrat.

Yet Balderas was nowhere to be found in the corridors of the courthouse. He didn't hold a press conference at the time of the filing and has since kept a tight lip, sending Spindle to lead the courtroom charge.

But in the past few weeks, Democrats have been anything but silent. They've called for Duran to step down and, in the interim, have reached out to Republicans across the aisle, urging them to treat these allegations seriously and not handle them in a political way.

A bipartisan committee convened at the Roundhouse immediately after the court proceeding and approved up to $250,000 to investigate whether Duran should be impeached. Most of the funding would go toward hiring legal counsel, although they were uncertain of the costs, because "it's a rare occasion," says Omar Hamid, deputy chief of staff for the House Democratic Leadership Office.

Hamid says a special investigative committee expects to hold its first meeting by the end of the month.

According to the criminal complaint, the charges against Duran range from fraud to embezzlement, and they paint a woman who allegedly funneled campaign contributions into her personal accounts and then withdrew the money for gambling at several casinos in New Mexico.

During the court hearing, Johnson, Duran's attorney, had asked the judge to throw out more than a dozen of the felony counts, contending that Duran was never properly notified of the charges. But Ellington denied the motion.

In all, at least a half-dozen of Johnson's motions got tossed, the last among them that the preliminary hearing be set at a later date and not within the required 60 days from Tuesday's court hearing.

Johnson claimed it was only last week that she'd received the state's discovery, mounds of evidence that she called "voluminous" and would need more time to examine.

But Spindle countered that "60 days is plenty of time for any attorney" to examine the evidence, something Johnson refuted, saying the state has had more than a year to prepare its case, compared with her time frame.

The judge denied that request too.

In the meantime, the state has until Oct. 5 to file its motions, and the defense has until Oct. 15 to respond, with a final response due back by the state by Oct. 22. A motions hearing is set for Oct. 23.

Santa Fe Reporter