Rules/Orders accomplish, by knowing where he stood. However, the email was a confidential communication, and none of the exceptions to the duty of confidentiality applied. There is no evidence of injury to the Client. Your conduct violated the following Rules of Professional Conduct: Rule 16-106(A) of the Rules of Professional Conduct, by revealing information to the representation of a client without the client’s informed consent. You are hereby formally reprimanded for these acts of misconduct pursuant to Rule 17-206(A)(5) of the Rules Governing Discipline. The formal reprimand will be filed with the Supreme Court in accordance with 17-206(D) and will remain part of your permanent records with the Disciplinary
Before the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of the State of New Mexico Disciplinary No. 2021-02-4483 In the Matter of Alan H. Maestas, Esq. An Attorney Licensed to Practice Law Before the Courts of the State of New Mexico
FORMAL REPRIMAND You are being issued this Formal Reprimand pursuant to a Conditional Agreement Not to Contest the Allegations and Consent to Discipline which was approved by a Hearing Committee and a Disciplinary Board Panel. You did not contest that the facts as pleaded evidence violations of the following Rules of Professional Conduct: 16-101 – by failing to provide competent representation to a client through a lack of thoroughness and preparation; 16-103 – by failing to act with reasonable diligence in representing a client; 16-301 – by controverting an issue in a manner that had no good faith basis; 16-302 – by failing to make reasonable efforts to expedite litigation; 16-304(C) – by knowingly disobeying an obligation under the rules of a tribunal when there was no assertion that a valid obligation did not exist; and/or 16-804(D) – by engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice. The misconduct occurred during your representation of a client in a criminal matter. You had been counsel for your client for approximately 25 months prior to an October 2020, hearing where a Decision & Judgment and Sentence on Direct Criminal Contempt was entered by the Court based upon your refusal to proceed with the trial despite a previous order which stated in part, “any party or attorney who violates this order shall be subject to contempt of court and appropriate sanctions as permitted by law.” An Amended Decision & Judgment and Sentence on Direct Criminal Contempt found you were guilty of criminal contempt and outlines the history of the underlying matter and the rationale for why your conduct was found to be “unlawful, unjustifiable, unethical and serve[] only to erode confidence in the system of justice and deteriorate the rule of law that is so essential to our democracy.” 18
Bar Bulletin - November 10, 2021 - Volume 60, No. 21
http://nmsupremecourt.nmcourts.gov Board, where it may be revealed upon any inquiry to the Board concerning any discipline ever imposed against you. In addition, in accordance with Rule 17-206(D), the entire text of this formal reprimand will be published in the State Bar of New Mexico Bar Bulletin. Dated: October 15, 2021 The Disciplinary Board of the New Mexico Supreme Court By Hon. Cynthia Fry (Ret.) Board Chair
While you had, just prior to the hearing, filed Defendant’s Brief on Vigorous Advocacy, Demonstrating that Present Circumstances Render Defense Counsel Unable to Commence Trial and that Such Inability is not Subject to Charges of Contempt, the Court declined to read this brief in full, but did permit you to orally present the arguments therein. The Honorable Melissa A. Kennelly noted that the matter had been pending for 43 months and all parties had been informed that no further continuances would be granted unless extraordinary circumstances required it and she stated in part, As stated so well by the California Supreme Court in People v. McKenzie, 668 P.2d 769, ‘It is the imperative duty of an attorney to respectfully yield to the rulings of the court, whether right or wrong.’ You did acknowledge that “an officer of the court is supposed to follow the orders of the judge, even if he knows they’re wrong” and that you knew you would be held in contempt. You have appealed the Court’s Amended Decision, but on the grounds that the Court erred by summarily convicting you of direct criminal contempt, not that your refusal to proceed with the trial in the underlying matter was appropriate. Whether you were simply not prepared to proceed on behalf of your client when you refused to proceed with trial was brought into question when it was determined that you failed to timely notify a proposed expert witness, of the October 2020, trial. Judge Kennelly found that you failed to timely notify your expert witness after you had stated in pertinent part, Next, commencing this trial is improper because, for whatever reason, I didn’t do my job and notify [the expert] in a manner that stuck with her or she put on her calendar. I will tell the court that my memory is that I called her a couple weeks after we got the trial notice. Whether or not she put it on her calendar or if she forgot, I don’t know. I’m not trying to point a finger at her, but I did not wait until the 9th to tell her. I did not. You did not subpoena the expert witness nor did the email exchanges between you and the expert witness refer to the trial at any time other than the following October 9, 2020 exchange: 10:00 am – Expert asked, “Alan – OK, I’ll watch for it. When does this case go to trial? []”
