A CALL FOR A CITIZEN'S GRAND JURY
The recent events in New Mexico with Rogue Governor Michelle Grisham trying to overrule the US Constitution via an emergency executive action that would ban open or concealed carry of firearms in Albuquerque for one month were met with immediate massive public outcry. The action was, some say, a test by the far left to see what they could get away with, or how manageable citizens reactions would be.
Within hours, Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen announced its deputies won’t enforce the governor’s order. The sheriff noted he questions the legality and the effectiveness of it. The following day, many legislators, police and citizen groups condemned the action. U.S. District Judge David Urias granted a temporary restraining order blocking measure, which came after New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez (a fellow Democrat) said he would not defend the governor from
any legal challenges to the order.
In the midst of all the outrage, there were several citizens who informed or reminded the public that New Mexico has a process in it’s constitution that allows citizens to take charge in case of unlawful behavior by elected officials. The citizens have the power co call a Grand Jury to investigate such offenses and refer for prosecution. Albuquerque New Mexico only needs 200 citizen signatures to convene a CGJ. Citizen Grand Juries (CGJ) have been around in several States for
some time.
The process is governed by Article II, Section 14, of the New Mexico Constitution which states in part: “A grand jury shall be convened upon order of a judge of a court empowered to try and determine cases of capital, felonious or infamous crimes at such times as to him shall be deemed necessary, or a grand jury shall be ordered to convene by such judge upon the filing of a petition there[of] signed by not less than the greater of two hundred registered voters or two percent of the registered voters of the county, or a grand jury may be convened in any additional manner as may be prescribed by law.”
Six states have their CGJ rights enshrined in their constitutions, and they have given specific guidelines for anyone to claim their rights they seek. Exact processes and signature requirements for citizen groups to qualify their proposals vary. Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota and Oklahoma are the only states that offer this process.
There was an attempt in Arizona to place a CGJ bill up for a vote in 2017-18. It appears that it was considered, and put forth, but never made it to the Ballot. It may be viewed here: https://apps.azsos.gov/election/2018/general/ballotmeasuretext/I-07-2018.pdf
In this current political climate where we don’t know which elected or appointed officials are actually working within the law and honoring their sworn duties and responsibilities, maybe reviving this CGJ bill to put on the ballot at the next election would be a valuable tool for citizens to have in their toolchest.
——————————–
Sources:
https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_Citizen_Grand_Jury_Initiative_(2018)
