Judge J Miles Hanisee was the only of 17 applicants vying for an open Court of Appeals seat to donate money to Gov. Susana Martinez' political action committee shortly before she appointed him, according to documents obtained by SFR.
---
On June 16, Hanisee donated $750 to Susana PAC , the governor's political action committee that supports New Mexico politicians who share her views. The PAC, formed in February, raises money to influence the outcome of elections and is allowed to contribute to candidates and create its own advertisements. Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, now a Taos resident, recently contributed to Susana PAC significantly.
On the same day Hanisee donated to the PAC, the Abuquerque Journal ran a story about the pool of applicants for the then-open appeals court seat, which included the former US attorney for New Mexico and three former and current assistant US attorneys. At the time, Hanisee was a private criminal defense attorney. Before that, he was an appellate lawyer and an assistant US attorney.
Hanisee, who had to go through a bipartisan nominating committee to be recommended for the job, says his donations had nothing to do with being named to the court. He adds that he can't remember if any question on the application asked for a disclosure of his donations.
"I certainly answered all the questions," Hanisee tells SFR.
As a judge, Hanisee says the Court of Appeals reviews all cases before assigning them to a judge to make sure there's no conflict of interest.
None of the names of other candidates showed up in a list of Susana PAC donations obtained by SFR. Hanisee says he's made several small donations to candidates he believes in—both Republican and Democratic—in the past. A Huffington Post donation tracker shows Hanisee only donated to Republican candidates, including Martinez, during the past four election cycles; according to state records, he donated a total of $1,300 to Martinez during her gubernatorial campaign in 2010.
Hanisee says he hasn't made any donations since being appointed as a judge.
Multiple pay-to-play allegations have troubled New Mexico's judicial industry for the past year. Martinez' critics have been leveling similar allegations at her for the way the state awarded a 25-year lease to the Downs at Albuquerque racino in November.
A new judicial code of conduct that goes into effect in January bars sitting judges not in a partisan race from donating to candidates or political organizations. It also tightens how judicial candidates can run their campaigns.
Hanisee is running to keep his appellate seat in the 2012 elections. Spokesmen from the governor's office didn't return e-mails and couldn't be reached by phone. SFR's attempts to contact University of New Mexico Law School Dean Kevin Washburn, who chaired the nominating commission, the Judicial Standards Commission and the State Bar of New Mexico were also unsuccessful.
Scroll down to see the public campaign contribution reports obtained by SFR. Hanisee's donation is visible at the bottom of page 31.
Photo courtesy www.votehanisee.com
