The Rio Arriba County Courthouse in Tierra Amarilla, N.M. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM)
The judge overseeing the attempted murder case against a man who shot someone at a protest of a statue in northern New Mexico is summoning 80 people to serve as potential jurors, because some of them may know too much about the case to objectively rule on it.
First Judicial District Court Judge Jason Lidyard said Thursday he doesn’t know how jury selection will go in the trial of Ryan Martinez, who was recorded on video shooting a climate activist during a prayer ceremony and protest of a monument to genocidal Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate in Rio Arriba County last fall.
“I don’t know how many people are going to know things about this case that are going to disqualify them from being able to serve,” Lidyard said.
Lidyard and the opposing legal teams previously agreed to begin jury selection on Oct. 7 in his courtroom in Tierra Amarilla, a small, remote village in the county’s northern reaches. So far, two sessions — or panels — of jury selection have been scheduled in the case.
“We’re not going to be able to pick the jury from the very first session. I’m sure of that,” Lidyard said, but they might be able to choose jurors from the second.
Out of an abundance of caution, he said, he’s spoken to the court’s Jury Services department about constructing a third panel of people to come in on the morning of Oct. 8 “if absolutely necessary.” That would be needed only if he and the attorneys are concerned about their ability to choose a jury by the end of the previous day, Lidyard said.
“I want to have this arranged so that we can immediately continue on with the selection,” he said.
Lidyard said they should be able to seat a jury within the planned time frame, even if the trial can’t begin until Oct. 9.
The trial’s first leg is scheduled for Oct. 8 through Oct. 11, when state prosecutors are expected to make their case and call their witnesses to testify. The second leg is scheduled for Oct. 16 through Oct. 18, when defense lawyers for Martinez will make their case and call their own witnesses.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Anthony Long said he’s relatively confident they’ll be able to pick a jury in the first two sessions, because Martinez is not charged with a capital offense, which means each side is limited in how many jurors they can try to disqualify without giving a reason.
Since Martinez is charged with attempted murder, if convicted he would be guilty of a second-degree felony, which gets a basic sentence of nine years under state law. In those kinds of cases, the defense is allowed five peremptory challenges and the state gets three, according to court rule.
Still, there is no limit on how many potential jurors either side can disqualify, so long as they have a good reason and articulate that to the judge, who rules on each disqualification.
A busy time in northern Rio Arriba
Another logistical challenge, Long said, is “there are no hotel rooms — nothing is available,” in the area.
“There are a host of things happening in northern Rio Arriba County right now, your honor, that make finding lodging impossible, or even changing that lodging,” he said.
He said a wedding is happening nearby, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is reaching the end of its season, and the trees are turning their fall colors, which typically attracts an influx of tourists.
Lidyard’s comments about jury selection came at the end of a two-and-a-half hour hearing on Thursday afternoon, where attorneys argued over half a dozen disputes about whether to include certain evidence and witnesses in the trial.
Lidyard told them he will announce his rulings on those disputes in a virtual hearing at 4 p.m. on Monday.