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In some of my past letters I've talked about how powerful the Trial Lawyers have become in Santa Fe. I will give you an example of this awesome, arrogant power. Last November at a Republican Convention in Albuquerque, a Trial Lawyer told one of my fellow Representatives that Mark Caruso, the only Republican lawyer at the time on the Judiciary Committee, would probably not be on the Judiciary Committee during 1993. Mark had quit the Trial Lawyers Association and votes very conservative and pro-business on most issues in Santa Fe.

Right after the first of the year when the Republican Leader, Blake Curtis, was conferring with the Democratic leaders regarding committee assignments, he was told, "Caruso would not go back to the Judiciary Committee." So Blake did not nominate Caruso for the Judiciary Committee. I don't know why the Trial Lawyers are concerned and "afraid" of Mark because the Democrats outnumber the Republicans 10 to 3 and on the Judiciary Committee. Democrat lawyers outnumber Republicans lawyers 7 to 1. But this does show the power of the Trial Lawyers... and how the Democrat leaders do their bidding.

Last year, Mark was the prime sponsor of the much-feared, term limitations for legislators. This year his two committee assignments meet at the same time, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:30 PM. He can only vote in one committee at a time. He is the only Republican assigned two committees meeting at the same time who did not request it. Is it accidental???

In the newspapers, television, and elsewhere, there's a big push for DWI legislation. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon and in doing so, they're pounding the Speaker, Raymond Sanchez. You people out there might think I have gone off the deep end or that I'm just getting senile, BUT I do not think that Ray and the legislature are getting a fair shake. The Legislature and Ray are blamed for the problems with DWI. I think 60% of the problem is with the Judges and Trial Lawyers. We read time after time how drunks either receive no sentence or a very light sentence.

Why does this happen?

Consider that Judges make no friends when they give a drunken driver a stiff sentence or a heavy fine. The public doesn't know when a judge takes this kind of action. But by letting a drunken driver go, the Judge becomes a hero to that drunk's family, which might mean 5 to 30 votes in the next election. Very seldom do the newspapers, T.V. or radio tell us about the few Judges who are consistently hard on drunks.

Did you know that the Trial Lawyers are very active and big contributors in Judges' races, especially Judges that are a little bit liberal and feel sorry for the "little guy." Judicial races in an election are very low profile. The Trial Lawyers know this. The result is that Trial Lawyers become good friends with liberal-leaning judicial candidates during the election period.

Recently I had a lawyer point out where the Trial Lawyers make their money:

1) Suing businesses and governments - both have insurance and insurance companies have money
2) Defending drug dealers - these people always have cash
3) Defending murderers - people will mortgage property to avoid the death sentence
4) Defending drunk drivers
5) Suing drunk drivers who happen to have insurance

You see very few Trial Lawyers defending the common-type criminals, i.e. robbers, burglars, rapists, forgers... .this type of criminal doesn't have money. They are defended by public defenders who of course are paid by the taxpayers. The Trial Lawyers are very happy with the way things are. People with good jobs will pay anything to get out of a DWI conviction so the Trial Lawyers keep the laws loose and the judges friendly. The Trial Lawyers do not want any changes.

In the Albuquerque Tribune, the Trial Lawyers were saying, ... "lawmakers should resist the temptation to become swept up in the emotion surrounding the alcohol related death of a woman and her three daughters on Christmas Eve."

Did you know that the Albuquerque Journal indicated that one of the main Trial Lawyers in the state is defending Mr. House, who is accused of driving the truck which killed the woman and her three daughters on Christmas Eve in Albuquerque?

The big battle for DWI is not only with liquor dealers but the other heavy players are the Trial Lawyers. No one realizes it!

Last year a Democrat Senator from Albuquerque, a Trial Lawyer, carried a bill to make Metropolitan Court, a "Court of Record" so that drunk drivers would need grounds to appeal their conviction instead of automatically requesting and getting a new trial in District Court if they were convicted in the first court. If the bill had passed, it would have saved taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasted judges' time, court personnel time, prosecutor time and police force (overtime) because the State would have a permanent record of the first conviction. Some judges in the Albuquerque District Court offered to testify on behalf of the bill but the Democrat Senator declined the offer because he didn't anticipate a problem with passage.

The bill was killed in the first committee hearing.

Questions:

1. Was this Senator, a Trial Lawyer, who regularly defends drunk drivers sponsoring the bill so that he could make sure it would not pass?

2. Did the Trial Lawyers who profit from this wasteful setup, help the Democrat Senator sabotage this bill?

Another interesting observation of special perks Trial Lawyers get from the legislature: During the Speaker's Symposium for DWI, January 28, thirty-five speakers were listed. All on the list to speak were taken in the listed order... except one. This speaker was the only trial lawyer on the agenda. The order of speaking was changed without notice to accommodate him ahead of 18 people including Tom Udall, Attorney General; John Denko, Chief of NM State Police; and Mrs. Marian Fleming, a woman who had lost a 15-year old daughter to a drunken driver.

Not only was it unusual that he moved up in order, his statement as quoted in the Albuquerque Journal was even more interesting: "The fact is throughout the systems we have not meaningfully enforced the laws this Legislature has already passed," said this well-known Criminal Defense Attorney, a former law professor at UNM. REREAD THAT STATEMENT AGAIN---IT TELLS THE WHOLE STORY!

In other words, 60% of the DWI problem is with Trial Lawyers and those who sit as judges of the courts.

Sincerely,

George Buffett

P.S. Here's an interesting fact about the DWI battle, the liquor dealers have hired Mary Sue Gutierrez to lobby to keep the drive-up windows open. (Attorney General Udall wants to get rid of them. A study compiled by the Santa Fe Municipal Court shows that repeat DWI offenders are more likely to purchase their alcohol at liquor store drive-up windows. The 7-year study shows drive-up windows to be the second most popular place to buy liquor, bars are the first.) Mary Sue is a very charming person who has been:

1) Democrat National Committeewoman

2) a Union Lobbyist in Santa Fe for over 10 years

3) former head of COPE (Committee on Political Education--the main political action committee of the AFL-CIO)

Mary Sue Gutierrez was one of the smartest union bosses in Santa Fe. She really understands New Mexico politics. The liquor dealers were very shrewd to hire such a well-connected person.

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