New Mexico Supreme Court
AZTEC, N.M. -- The attorney for outgoing New Mexico Magistrate Judge James Atcitty recently announced that his client is suing the New Mexico Supreme Court, among others, for discrimination. Attorney Victor Titus claims the defendants failed to accommodate Atcitty's hearing disability when they "unlawfully" suspended him from the bench. As well as the state Supreme Court, the lawsuit also names the state of New Mexico, the current and former directors of the administrative office of the courts and the magistrate court director. Titus says the state's judicial authorities did not attempt to consult experts on Atcitty's hearing condition before deciding to suspend him. "Nobody who knew what the heck they were doing sat down and looked at what was appropriate" for Atcitty's condition," Titus told the Aztec (NM) Daily Times. The suit also charges the state Supreme Court and its employees with leaking to the press confidential information about ongoing proceedings concerning Atcitty.