A New Mexico prosecutor who lost a legal challenge seeking to revive a public corruption case against former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron said Tuesday he is considering taking it to the state’s highest court. The state Court of Appeals ruled last week that charges against Vigil-Giron were properly dismissed in November 2012 because delays in the case violated her constitutional right to a speedy trial. Vigil-Giron, a Democrat, was secretary of state from 1999 to 2006. She was indicted in 2009 on charges of fraud, money laundering and embezzlement in misuse of federal money in a voter education campaign.
A special prosecutor, Joseph Campbell, appealed a Bernalillo County district court judge’s decision to dismiss the case. He was appointed after Attorney General Gary King’s office was disqualified. Campbell said Tuesday that no decision has been made on whether to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court, but it’s under consideration.
Vigil-Giron’s attorney, Robert Gorence, didn’t immediately return a phone message seeking comment.
There were numerous changes of judges in the Vigil-Giron case, and the court said delays were caused “in large part by the administrative failures of the district court.” It took 18 months for the district court to resolve Vigil-Giron’s request to disqualify the attorney general.
Full Article: Court upholds dismissal of corruption case against ex-secretary of state – Las Cruces Sun-News.