Dear Friend,
This campaign for District Attorney is no doubt an improbable campaign. But it one with the objectives of public service and toward the balance of justice.
.New Mexico law It requires a candidate to be a registered
voter and member of the party for which he or she is seeking office. The
candidate must be learned at law , a resident of the district and a
resident of New Mexico for three years prior to his or her election.
--- NM Constitutional Art. VI,
Sec. 24 and Art. VII, Sec. 2A
Each of these I fulfill, and I dare say with excellence. Aside from the party approval question , which becomes a whole topic in and of itself, I have found the system badly broken. It is like a
scale leaning to the right, and without counter-balances. It may be
hard to explain, but justice to me is exactly what everyone feels when
they affirm the pledge of allegiance and end solemnly, “…and justice
for all”.
Justice is counter-balance, And innovation with modern technologies
which can be used to both secure the public safety and the
individual rights of liberty which we have come to expect. A law
school professor noted it as a “fluid situation”. We as a society
are not supposed to have murderers go free, but we aren’t supposed
to convict innocents. That is what makes our American ideals of
justice to work.
Over the last few years, we have all witnessed the opposite in New
Mexico. Admittedly, it is an imperfect system even when done
right-- but that which transpires in New Mexico does not even
effort to a more perfect system.
To take some examples, it should be recognized that what has
developed in New Mexico is a culture of special interests. Of
course everybody wants to be special; and moneyed interests often
rule the outcome of events behind the scenes. The former
District Attorney of the 2nd Judicial District held out a sign
for his law office a block from the
Courthouse steps--implying if not openly advertising , that the law was
for sale. The same can be found before planning boards, various
commissions, and agencies of not only the Courts , but of numerous
subdivisions of the State.
These are unacceptable answers . A few corruption cases arise
in the newspapers and task forces often bear toward ethic and
practices. But the teeth of regulation--those counter-balances
of the law toward justice for all-- are often absent.
We can see the results in special zoning privileges. We can
see the result in the repeat DUI cases-- where the driver
not only discounts the effective force of driving while
suspended, but further endangers the society as a whole. A
state trooper once observed in one of those of those
unexpected truths we might hear-- “that the car is a more
deadly weapon than the gun.” In the wrong hands , at the
wrong time both are deadly-- but the car alcohol continue to
cause more deaths in our State.
While initiatives have been undertaken, much more can be
done. I wrote about this in the New Mexican over the
summer. And plan to implement some of these strategies
upon election to office. Just so, in marking improvements
to sexual assault victims investigation . If anything, New
Mexico often
is absent a proper investigation-- utilizing outdated and obsolete
techniques and technologies. The result is a perpetrator goes free . That
is unacceptable. The task is monumental.
And toward that, I have the character and experience to serve
the term of the First Judicial District Attorney. I bring
forward that vision of tomorrow in a collection of articles
which are currently in the publication stages. But more than
that, upon the office of the District Attorney of the First
Judicial District ,
I shall faithfully serve without prejudice or reservation
duties of the office.
If you would like to circulate a petition signature sheet, which I hope that you
will take the time to do so, or if you would like to make a
contribution or reserve a book, please don’t hesitate contact
the web-page:
www.eliotgould.com
My best regards,
ELIOT GOULD
Candidate for
FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY
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