Domenici’s Accusation By The NumbersYesterday, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) announced, by way of explanation, that he’d become frustrated with New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesias’ “inability” to “move more quickly on cases.” That frustration, he explained in a statement, had led him to call Justice Department officials and seek a replacement.
But the statistics kept by the Federal Judiciary don’t reflect an inability for Iglesias’ office to move more quickly on cases — in fact, quite the opposite. In 2001, when Iglesias took over, the data (pdf) shows a median of 4.6 months for a criminal case in the New Mexico office to move from filing to disposition (dismissal, guilty plea, or trial). In 2005, that time had dwindled to 3.7 months.
And that’s a time when Iglesias’ office was increasingly snowed under by more cases. His office opened 1,548 criminal cases in 2001; in 2005, the office opened 2,915.
So Iglesias’ office was opening more cases and handling them faster than his predecessor. Maybe that’s why he received a positive performance evaluation?
But that still wasn’t good enough for Domenici, apparently.
Ed. Note: Thanks to TPM Reader KW for the tip.
