On July 2, 2019, Valencia County District and Magistrate courts will join the Sandoval County and Cibola County courts in the first combined 13th Judicial Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.
Judge Tina Garcia is retiring at the end of December.
This first meeting will be via video conference. Chief District Court Judge Louis McDonald will be addressing the attendees, and Karl Reifsteck will be hosting the meeting.
House Bill 267 Section 7 created a Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in each judicial district. The purpose of the council is to adopt rules in a manner appropriate to accomplish its duties pursuant to the Crime Reduction Grant Act.
Also, to the extent possible, review the criminal justice system in the district, identify problems with the systems, develop policies in order to improve public safety outcomes, cost effective responses to crime and fair and efficient adjudication processes.
The council is made up of each court from the district, including district attorney’s office, public defenders, law enforcement, jails and detention centers, behavioral health programs or other agencies and entities agreed upon by the council.
The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council shall select a chairman at its first meeting and shall meet not less than 10 months per year.
With the creation of a council, there are Crime Reduction Grant monies available for districts that can develop data-driven policies and evidence-based best practices designed to improve public safety.
There are many ways to improve the judicial processes and with this committee, we are hopeful that we can address the problems in our area and make improvements where possible.
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April 18, 2024
