I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
University of New Mexico administrators have issued a new permit for members of the “99 percent” movement to protest at Yale Park, which is on UNM’s campus.
The drone attacks that killed Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen have sparked renewed talks of due process for U.S. born citizens alleged to have been involved in terrorist activity.
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico sued Secretary of State Dianna Duran Wednesday in the Second Judicial Court of New Mexico, alleging that she violated the state’s public records law in claiming “executive privilege” by concealing documents related to her claims of voter fraud.
Both Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) and the American Civil Liberties Union agree: There needs to be an investigation into Spc. Adam Jarrell’s claims of racial discrimination. Jarrell, who is African American, claims that while deployed in Afghanistan with the New Mexico National Guard, he was subject to systemic racial discrimination: the worst incident happened when he found a noose outside his sleeping quarters.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the City of Albuquerque in state district court Monday, demanding that it reverse its decision to redistrict after the October 2011 city council elections. The ACLU wants the city to instead redraw districts before the October elections to reflect population changes in the 2010 elections, especially in the fast-growing West Side of Albuquerque.
A law that would require DNA to be taken from all individuals arrested for felonies, one of Gov. Susana Martinez’s legislative priorities, has wide bipartisan support and will likely land on the governor’s desk for her signature. But after the bill is passed it will face court challenges from civil liberties groups that say the law with the tenet of being innocent until proven guilty.
Although Arizona’s controversial immigration law is not scheduled to go into effect until the end of July, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico is warning travelers about traveling West over the Fourth of July holiday. The group has…
Pecos, N.M. resident Val Kilmer is expected to appear in front of the San Miguel County Commission next week, where commissioners are likely to ask Kilmer to explain some comments he’s made about the rural area where he has…
Obama’s plan to send 1,200 more troops to help with border security met with the approval of New Mexico’s Congressional delegation, but American Civil Liberties Union Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas don’t agree.
Two New Mexicans have joined a federal lawsuit that seeks to stop Arizona’s tough new immigration law from taking effect in July. Jesús Cuauhtémoc Villa and Vicki Gaubeca of Las Cruces, two of more than a dozen plaintiffs, said they joined the legal challenge because they said they travel back and forth between the two states and are concerned about being pulled over by Arizona police officers, they told The Independent.
A coalition of civil rights groups including the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) say they will announce Thursday in Phoenix that they will challenge Arizona’s recent…
A United States District Court For New Mexico, 10th Circuit ruled today that Albuquerque’s regulation banning sex offenders from libraries is unconstitutional. The law would create “an unacceptable risk of the suppression of ideas” and infringe upon the First Amendment…
House Bill 118, a measure that would prevent registered lobbyists, state contractors and agencies seeking subsidies from making contributions to state candidates, was tabled in committee Thursday, but supporters say it’s a temporary setback. The bill would also make nonprofits that…
A lawsuit filed 22 years ago is still costing New Mexico money and one Senator wants to cut the cash. Sen. Rod Adair threw out the word ‘scam’ as he described the millions of dollars the state has paid in…
The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office has settled a lawsuit, brought by the ACLU of New Mexico (ACLU-NM), after officers on a manhunt for accused cop-killer Michael Astorga searched the home of Astorga’s in-laws. According to ACLU-NM, officers surrounded the home…
Marino Leyba, Jr., who Santa Fe police say shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend and her father in May, is being represented by Gary C. Mitchell of Ruidoso, who has defended 70 death penalty cases and who happens to…
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico is suing a privately-run prison in Clayton for imposing cruel and unusual punishment, charging that in December, 2008, prison guards kept seven nude or semi-nude prisoners locked in a cold…
New Mexico Motor Transportation Division officers in Lordsburg have been targeting African-American truck drivers for detention, inspection and search, alleges a lawsuit filed in federal court (PDF) by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.
Several groups have sent a letter to Albuquerque’s Charter Review Task Force to protest a proposed amendment that they say would “limit the free speech of nonprofit organizations operating in Albuquerque.”
The one-page letter, which was made public Wednesday,…
Domestic partnership legislation failed in the Senate today, by a vote of 17 to 25. Click below to read the (very, very long) transcript of our live blog, and to watch a video of the proceedings.
