Las Cruces defense attorney Ramona Martinez launches bid for District Attorney
Defense attorney, Ramona Martinez, 44, has worked in Las Cruces for the past 10 years, defending clients in the Third Judicial District.
Martinez is running for the Third Judicial District District Attorney, an office that is currently held by Gerald Byers, who recently announced his re-election campaign. In an interview with the Sun-News, Martinez cited frustration at the pace in which cases are prosecuted, if they are prosecuted at all.
"I am on the front lines of what is going on in the Third Judicial District and people need to be concerned," Martinez said. "Right now it's gotten to a point where it's a public safety issue. Victims deserve to have their cases prosecuted in a timely manner. That goes for the accused, too."
Martinez grew up in Tierra Amarilla on her family’s ranch. She graduated from the University of New Mexico and UNM Law School. She's a member of the New Mexico Border Authority, the New Mexico Sentencing Commission, and the New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association. She is also the Southwest Regional Director for the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the Supreme Court’s New Mexico Access to Justice Commission, and a former board member of the Cannabis Law Section of the New Mexico State Bar.
Martinez is the owner of Law Office of Martinez-Salopek, LLC, where she is a defense attorney for criminal and civil cases.
Martinez believes she has the experience to address an understaffed DAs office through recruiting attorneys throughout the state, and as a result, increase the number of cases that are prosecuted in the court.
"I've had a victim of violent crime who has been waiting for two years for the person to be indicted," Martinez said. "The response has been that it's just the way cases are handled. The issue here is they don't have enough attorneys to effectively prosecute the cases they have."
The implementation of New Mexico Supreme Court rule LR 3-303, or Case Managment Order, led to a number of cases being dismissed. The CMO is meant to decrease the load of criminal cases and stimulate quicker resolutions. It was implemented in the Third Judicial District as a pilot district to study the effects of the CMO. The CMO is a set of rules regarding time limits in the district court. The rule applies to all criminal cases in the district court.
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Martinez said she would prioritize prosecuting violent and repeat offenders.
"I've had victims go through eight or nine different prosecutors," Martinez said. "Telling their story eight times is more traumatic on top of the trauma they have already suffered. I think it's time we begin holding people accountable and it's time for new leadership."
Martinez said it's the responsibility of the DA to recruit attorneys throughout the state.
"It takes leadership to actively recruit attorneys," she said. "It takes going out in the community to show that you're a leader. I would actively recruit and more importantly, I would recruit attorneys that represent the diversity of Doña Ana County."
March 12 is filing day for candidates. Early voting begins on May 7 and June 4 is primary election day.
"Ramona is the right choice for District Attorney - committed to building a legal system that safeguards our community and fosters trust among its members," Doña Ana County Commissioner Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez said in a statement.
Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @jpgroves.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Las Cruces attorney Ramona Martinez launches bid for District Attorney
