Removal Approval

The New Mexico Supreme Court officially accepted a motion to remove Santa Fe County Magistrate Judge Dev Khalsa from his position, after more than a month since he said he would step down. The order, issued on July 3, effectively accepts his resignation and requires that Khalsa issue an official letter of resignation to the presiding First Judicial District Court judge and the high court’s chief justice by the end of the day. (Court spokesman Barry Massey confirms Khalsa did so.)

Now the task of filling the vacancy in the court falls to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The governor has compiled a list of ten possible candidates, including the three people who ran against Khalsa in the Democratic primary in 2002: Melissa Mascarenas, John Baca and Michael Roybal. Seven other names appear on the list, according to Caroline Sweeney, the governor’s spokeswoman: Lydia Herbert, Anastasia Martin, David Nickerson, Donna Rivera-Atencio, Patrick Simpson, David Thomas, Morgan Wood.

Santa Fe police arrested Khalsa, who was elected in November 2022, and charged him with drunk driving after allegedly rolling his SUV on the northbound St. Francis Drive off-ramp from I-25 during the early hours of Feb. 26. Khalsa showed up for work the next day, but the presiding magistrate judge sent him home by order of District Chief Judge Bryan Bryan Biedscheid.

Unsealed court documents related to Khalsa’s disciplinary case later revealed that the court placed him on paid leave and barred him from the Magistrate Court building. The state Supreme Court later suspended Khalsa’s pay, honoring the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission’s March 1 request to do so.

A stipulated motion from the commission filed with the Supreme Court asked justices to accept Khalsa’s resignation on the condition that he never run for—or hold—a judicial spot in New Mexico again.

Khalsa’s criminal case remains pending in Santa Fe Municipal Court. Police declined to pursue a charge of aggravated DWI because officers never asked him to submit to a breath test. Khalsa has refused interviews with SFR, but has maintained his innocence through his criminal defense attorney. Khalsa’s next status hearing in that case is scheduled for July 12.

Prior to his election to the bench, Khalsa worked as both a defense attorney and prosecutor. He campaigned on forming the DWI court system to make things more efficient.

Lujan Grisham’s office did not provide a timeline of when she might appoint Khalsa’s replacement before publication.

After Khalsa won the November 2022 general election, the governor appointed  him to bench to replace retiring Magistrate George Anaya. He began hearing cases in mid-December, presiding Magistrate John Rysanek tells SFR.