Former chair of the New Mexico parole board, former Appellate Defender, and all around enthusiast for improving the justice system.

“Yes, I’m a true believer that we can do better. It is so outrageously mis-guided to use jails and prisons as we do when the research shows there are better ways. There must be a change of attitude to address social problems without putting someone behind bars.”

“The New Mexico parole system got an F on its process. The most shocking thing is that one can’t have a lawyer for a parole hearing. The parole hearing is a terrible gotcha system stacked in every way; it’s very un-American.”

“The appellate system gives the idea that we can correct errors, but the truth is that a convicted appellant almost never wins. Even when obvious wrongs are raised, the error is designated as ‘harmless error’. Doing appellate work is most depressing much of the time.”

“Most judges are smart and can do the job; the real test of a good judge is having the courage to make a decision.”

“How could we not have addressed the issue of adequate resources for counsel by now? (Gideon vs. Wainwright, guaranteeing counsel, was decided in 1963.) Yet many public defenders have caseloads that are physically impossible to undertake competently. . . . Such a conundrum is often presented – whether an innocent person should take a deal.”