Columns

It was Friday, June 22, 1923, at 4:13 in the afternoon, when a jury returned a verdict against Carl C. Magee, editor and publisher of the Albuquerque Tribune — finding him guilty of criminal libel.

Surrounded by the most capable lawyers in New Mexico, Magee stood before the court, as District Judge David J. Leahy sentenced the publisher to a year in jail.

Why, you may have asked on Friday, did the Optic editorial board feel compelled to endorse senatorial candidates in both party races, rather than just one candidate over all the others?

I’ll tell ya, in a round-about way.

I’m referring to our editorial endorsements of Democrat Hector Balderas and Republican Heather Wilson, who are running for their party nominations to be New Mexico’s next U.S. senator, replacing Jeff Bingaman, who opted not to run for a sixth term.

We’re booked. In late July it’ll be our turn to fly across the Atlantic to visit our son, Stanley Adam, wife Lizbeth, and daughters Ellen, 3, and June, 5 months old.

It’s our exchange for their having flown here; they’re in Washington, D.C, visiting one of my nephews, and they were due in Albuquerque on Tuesday night, a few hours after the deadline for this column.

Having concluded the Centennial series — bringing it home to Las Vegas with the story of Gov. Ezequiel C de Baca — we now begin another titillating narrative. We will recount the history of the district judgeship in Las Vegas, and tell the story of the fascinating men who occupied that position through 1965.

Our self-imposed terminal date is the year legendary District Judge Luis E. Armijo passed away, after serving almost 40 years on the Las Vegas bench.