The New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday issued an opinion stating lawmakers cannot be sued for “legitimate legislative activities,” including a Senate leader’s decision to relocate a member’s seat in the chamber and his office at the state Capitol.
The written ruling settles a lawsuit former Sen. Jacob Candelaria filed against Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart, alleging Stewart had retaliated against him by moving his office and Senate floor seat because he had criticized her handling of a personnel matter.
Jacob Candelaria
Courtesy photo
It provides the legal reasoning behind a ruling the court made from the bench in December after hearing oral arguments.
Chief Justice David K. Thomson wrote in the unanimous opinion legislative “immunity reinforces the separation of powers” and that civil court actions "divert legislators’ attention from their work and bring judicial power to bear, imperiling legislative independence."
"While the decision on this case was delivered last year, it's good to have closure on this issue with the delivery of a written opinion from the Supreme Court," Stewart said in an email Monday.
"Our Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause outlines what constitutes legitimate, protected legislative activities, and the Supreme Court's affirmation now makes it clear once and for all," she added.
Candelaria said he respects the court's ruling but disagrees with it.
"This is the first time [the] court has been called to interpret the scope of the legislative immunity clause of our state constitution, and I think they interpreted it far more broadly than other United States courts and United States Supreme Court has, with respect to the federal counterpart," said Candelaria, an attorney.
"I think that’s bad policy ... as this decision now provides immunity to legislative leaders that is far broader than under federal law," he added.
"For me, the truth will always remain: She broke the law and engaged in race-based discrimination," he said, referring to Stewart, a fellow Albuquerque Democrat. "I called her out, and she retaliated against me."
Candelaria filed the lawsuit in 2022, alleging Stewart had moved his office in the Roundhouse from a space on the ground floor with a window to one on the third floor without a window, and moved him to a less desirable seat on the Senate floor after he criticized her support of Rachel Gudgel, a former director of the Legislative Education Study Committee who had been accused of mocking Native Americans and screaming a homophobic slur at a gay co-worker, according to reports from the time.
"These actions were motivated, at least in part, by an unlawful desire to punish Mr. Candelaria ... and to otherwise deter any other persons from raising similar objections to Ms. Stewart's conduct in the future," Candelaria's complaint alleges.
Attempts to reach Gudgel, who later resigned, were unsuccessful Monday.
Candelaria initially filed the case in the 2nd Judicial District Court. Stewart asked the court for a summary judgment, arguing her assignments of office space in the state Capitol and seats on the Senate floor were legislative acts for which she is entitled to immunity under the Speech or Debate Clauses of the New Mexico Constitution and the U.S. Constitution.
The District Court denied Stewart’s motion, reasoning that to decide whether her acts were protected, it had to examine her motives for moving Candelaria’s office and seat, according to online court records.
Stewart asked the Supreme Court to weigh in, arguing in part her motives were irrelevant because her actions were protected. New Mexico justices agreed.
"We conclude that Senate President Pro Tempore Stewart has the authority to both allocate resources and make decisions related to structuring the Senate’s deliberative process, acts that are both legitimate legislative activities," Thomson wrote in the ruling.
