Let's Contact This Judge
December 26, 2005
Every once in a while something so strange happens it is difficult for anyone with only half a brain – I’ve been accused of that more than once - to believe that it’s really true. The story about a New Mexico District Court Judge issuing a restraining order against David Letterman sought be a woman with obvious mental health issues is such a story.
I suppose the operative words are judge” and obvious.” I could not believe the story was real and I had to check it out to see if it is an authentic United Press International story or just another Urban Myth.” And to my surprise, sure enough it is fact and not fiction.
The judge, Daniel Sanchez, is actually a District Court Judge in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I called him at 505-827-5056 and I could only reach his secretary’s voice mail so I’ll send him an FAX at 505-827-5055. I just want to let him know that I believe he may have more mental health issues than the woman who requested the restraining order.
The part that should really scare all of us, and this includes domestic violence advocates, is that when Sanchez was questioned about the issuance of such a strange and outlandish order he simply replied, If they make a proper pleading, than I grant it.” Proof positive that there is little to no logic involved in the issuance of some of these orders.
Proper pleading” is when all of the courts administrative rules are followed. Proper pleading avoids the facts.” In this instance the actually facts” of the request are that Letterman was sending Colleen Nestler secret messages via code during his, Late Night with David Letterman” show. Yup! Sure seems like proper pleading” to me. Then again perhaps it just might be rubber stamping without really reading or not caring about real people.
What Sanchez has done is to trivialize the issue of domestic violence and made a complete mockery concerning the issuance of restraining orders. And, as too many people have discovered, lives are lost and many lives destroyed because Judges, similar to Sanchez, issue these orders as long as the proper pleadings” of the court are followed. No facts, no evidence, just proper pleading.”
The real travesty of this incident is that Sanchez will probably remain a judge issuing restraining orders while continuing to lack a single clue of how devastating their issuance can be to real people who are living in the real word.
And this would be a funny story, if only it wasn’t a real story, about real people.
