Sheriff's upcoming trial set for Santa Fe
Jun. 22—The upcoming trial of Rio Arriba County Sheriff James Lujan will officially be in Santa Fe, though when that trial begins and where they'll draw the jury pool from is now in limbo.
First Judicial District Judge Bryan Biedscheid issued a ruling on the change of venue motion Monday for a trial in which Lujan is charged with three counts of resisting, evading or obstructing an officer. The charges stem from Lujan's refusal to allow investigators access to his cellphone in response to a search warrant in a case in which he is accused of helping a friend avoid arrest.
"I also am very concerned, I'd say, about the averments in the sworn affidavit related to events at the (Tierra Amarilla) courthouse at the last trial," Biedscheid said. "I don't see where any of those were brought to Judge (Kathleen) McGarry's attention."
During the hearing, Biedscheid vacated the current trial date scheduled for the end of July.
Earlier this month, Lujan's trial for bribery of a witness and harboring or aiding a felon in Tierra Amarilla ended in a hung jury. Afterward, special prosecutor Andrea Rowley Reeb filed motions for a change of venue in the upcoming case, as well as the case that ended in a mistrial.
The motions detailed how Lujan and his deputies allegedly interacted with the jury members on several occasions during this month's trial, and jurors reporting they felt intimidated by Lujan and his deputies.
No ruling has been issued on the change of venue motion filed in the case that ended in a mistrial.
Reeb also brought up the media coverage of the cases in her motions, but Biedscheid said he was a "difficult sell" on those arguments.
Most of the issues brought up in the motions concerned the size and function of the Tierra Amarilla courthouse, such as the difficulty sequestering jurors. Biedscheid said the Santa Fe courthouse is bigger, so those things shouldn't be an issue.
In addition, Biedscheid said the concerns of the Rio Arriba deputies providing security would be a moot point in Santa Fe because the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office is in charge of courthouse security.
However, a still unresolved issue is from where to pull the jury. Reeb argued that jurors shouldn't be pulled from Rio Arriba County because Lujan is the elected sheriff there.
But defense attorney Jason Bowles said Lujan has a right to be tried by a jury of his peers in Rio Arriba County.
"I'm objecting to the idea that (Reeb) keeps saying the common theme amongst all these jurors was they were intimidated, they felt like they couldn't vote guilty — that is 100% false," Bowles said. "That is not true."
Biedscheid said he would give attorneys a couple of weeks to submit motions on the issue involving the jury and set a separate hearing to decide what to do.
