Apr. 7—The state Supreme Court issued an order Friday temporarily suspending Santa Fe County Magistrate Dev Atma Khalsa without pay in response to his Feb. 26 arrest on a charge of driving while intoxicated.

Santa Fe police say the judge was behind the wheel when his Toyota 4Runner was in a one-vehicle rollover accident off northbound Interstate 25 near St. Francis Drive in the early morning hours. Khalsa showed up for work the following day, but First Judicial District Chief Judge Bryan Biedscheid removed him from the bench.

Records the state Supreme Court unsealed Friday pertaining to a Judicial Standards Commission inquiry into the incident show the court issued a writ Feb. 27 authorizing Biedscheid to place Khalsa on indefinite leave with pay at that time.

The commission petitioned the court March 1 to convert the suspension to a "temporary suspension without pay ... pending further investigation" of "acts that may constitute willful misconduct in office."

The court issued an order granting that petition Friday, suspending Khalsa "without pay, effective immediately, until further order of the court."

Albuquerque attorney Briggs F. Cheney filed a response on Khalsa's behalf earlier this week opposing the order. He argued the February order removing Khalsa from the bench while the matter was being investigated was sufficient for preserving the public's trust in the integrity of the judicial process while the criminal case against him was pending.

"Respondent has retained counsel and entered a not guilty plea as to the traffic ordinances he was charged with violating and ... a determination will be made as to [his] guilt or innocence," Cheney wrote. "Until then [Khalsa] is presumed to be innocent. Yet the Commission has been unwilling to accept this Court's order addressing this matter and seeks to exercise its own powers to include its punitive powers."

Khalsa could not be reached for comment Friday on the suspension change.

Attorney Kitren Fischer, who represents Khalsa in his criminal case, wrote in a text message she had "nothing to add."

Police arrested Khalsa, who was elected to the judgeship in November, on charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated and driving with an expired license after responding to a report of a single-vehicle rollover crash.

The investigating officer reported Khalsa had an odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his breath and noticeably slurred speech. His driver's license had expired two days before.

Khalsa told an officer, "I've had nothing to drink," according to a criminal complaint. He became uncooperative at a local hospital and refused a medical assessment, the complaint said. He also refused a blood-alcohol test.

"Mr. Khalsa was read the New Mexico Implied Consent Act and was asked to submit to test of his blood; however he refused," Deputy Chief Matthew Champlin wrote.

However, officers did not ask Khalsa to submit to a breath-alcohol test, which would have been required for the aggravated charge.

Champlin said in an interview on the day of the crash the department likely would downgrade the aggravated DWI charge to a simple DWI. Police are not entitled to a sample of a person's blood for misdemeanor DWI offenses, he said, meaning the judge's refusal to submit to a blood draw didn't qualify as an aggravating factor.

Under state law, police can't seek a search warrant for a suspect's blood unless the arrest is related to at least a fourth DWI charge. The February charge appeared to be Khalsa's first, according to the criminal complaint.

Champlin later wrote in an email officers did not request a breath sample because Khalsa's medical care was paramount.

"Mr. Khalsa was transported directly from the scene to the hospital via ambulance because providing medical care was the top priority. There are no breath machines at the hospital for use in DWI investigations," Champlin wrote.

Khalsa is now charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, careless driving and driving with an expired driver's license, according to Santa Fe Municipal Court records.

The case is pending in Municipal Court, with a pretrial hearing set for April 26.

Fischer issued a comment on Khalsa's behalf March 1, saying he was "evaluating resignation and will decide shortly."

"Dev Atma Khalsa is contesting the criminal charge filed against him, so we cannot comment on the defenses of his case at this time," she wrote. "Mr. Khalsa does want to say that he is very sorry for his actions. Mr. Khalsa believes that nobody is above the law, especially a judge. Mr. Khalsa extends his sincere apologies to the staff and judges at the Magistrate Court who are picking up the slack in his absence, and to those who entrusted him with public office. Mr. Khalsa will work hard to regain the trust of the community."