New Mexico grapples with no-bond detention law

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors and public defenders are turning to the New Mexico Supreme Court for guidance on how to apply new constitutional provisions that can keep an accused person jailed without bond until trial. Justices are scheduled to hear oral arguments Wednesday aimed at clarifying what evidence must be presented at detention hearings to justify holding a defendant without bail. The court will focus on three criminal cases from the Albuquerque-based Second Judicial District, where District Attorney Raul Torrez has requested dozens of no-bond detentions with limited success. Torrez says two well-documented requests for pre-trial detention were denied simply because no witnesses were called. In another case, a public defender says his client was denied bail without clear and convincing evidence that she posed a danger.