Bernalillo County District Attorney speaks out on failed juvenile crime bills in the legislature
Mar 24, 2025
BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) - Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham made a loud push this session to reform New Mexico's juvenile crime law but after a major effort fell flat. One of the state's most prominent prosecutors is now calling out lawmakers for a lack of action. Bernalillo County District At
torney Sam Bregman is one of the biggest advocates calling for tougher penalties against some juveniles.
He said lawmakers have left him frustrated. "I can tell there was absolutely not one single bill when it comes to changing children's code, the delinquency act, not one," said Bregman. It's not the outcome he hoped for at the end of a 60-day session with two bills aimed at juvenile crime reforms failing to make it to the governor's desk.
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HB 255 would have toughened penalties and added rehabilitation resources but it failed a Senate vote. Despite that failure, House leadership said over the weekend that New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department reforms should help. "First and foremost, I think fixing CYFD is addressing juvenile crime, you cannot talk about juvenile crime without ensuring that this state steps up and shows up for those children who are in situations where they are struggling," said Javier Martinez, Speaker of the House, Bregman disagrees.
"I hope they changed a lot of things in CYFD for the better whatever that might be, but they did nothing about holding kids accountable, having some consequences nothing whatsoever," said Bregman. The push for change comes after a mass shooting involving teens in Las Cruces Friday night and recent news of an 11, 13, and 15-year-old being charged for hitting and killing a bicyclist last year. "We are going to hold everybody accountable that murdered that bicyclist on his way to work, we're going to hold them accountable and hold them to the full extent of the law," said Bregman.
But Bregman notes gaps in the Children's Code continue to make difficult work for prosecutors. "I want you to hold these young people accountable when they violate the law. And start when they first violate the law, when they steal their first car. Make sure they understand there's a consequence to that behavior. They're going to be accountable… So that down the road, we don't have situations where the first time they're being held accountable is when they're being prosecuted for murder," said Bregman.
The governor has signaled that she could call another special session on crime and Bregman said he too is in support of the idea. Democrats in both the House and Senate said Saturday they don't think a special session on crime will work unless the bills are figured out ahead of time. ...read more read less