近距离内射合集

As a federal district judge in New Mexico, James O. Browning has presided over landmark police reform litigation.

His public corruption cases included those of a former state treasurer and a former state legislator. He endured death threats during weekslong criminal trials of members of New Mexico鈥檚 most notorious prison gang.

But after 23 years on the bench, days before his judicial retirement Friday, U.S. District Judge Browning of Albuquerque was trying to choose the right words Aug. 17 as he sent a defendant on probation back to prison.

鈥淚鈥檓 always trying to think of one encouraging thing to say. Maybe something they can work on (in prison),鈥� he said. 鈥淲e forget that for certain people, the judge is the authority figure, and their words have impact and meaning.鈥�

The origin of Browning鈥檚 attraction to the federal judiciary can be traced to the words in a little green book he read as a fourth grader growing up in southeastern New Mexico.

鈥淚 decided to read all the books in the Hobbs Public Library, and so I started going down the nonfiction (titles).鈥�

There he found 鈥淛ohn Marshall and the Constitution,鈥� written by Edward S. Corwin.

鈥淚 fell in love with the rhetoric and the sweeping language, the trials that he had,鈥� Browning said.

He went on to graduate magna cum laude from Yale University in 1978 and received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1981.

He has only a few regrets. He never ran for political office. He aspired to be a federal appeals court judge but was passed over.

But life as a federal district judge in New Mexico, with its 180-mile international border and more than two dozen Indian reservations, presented Browning with opportunities to rule on national controversies such as gun control and, alternately, to lock up violent offenders for life.

鈥淎s a trial judge, you really never know if you鈥檙e going to be any good at it, and I鈥檒l have to let others decide whether I鈥檓 any good at what I do,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut you have to make a lot of decisions very quickly in this job, and a lot of people are uncomfortable with that.鈥�

鈥淛an, my wife, said I would have been bored as an appellate judge. I always kept telling her, 鈥楤ore me. Bore me.鈥欌��

Jan, his wife of 40 years, died in 2019. The two met on the playground in first grade.

During a break in the trial of a Bernalillo County sheriff鈥檚 detective charged with obstruction of justice, Browning took time, in his usual folksy way, to tell jurors he and his courtroom staff hoped to attend an evening at the Santa Fe Opera 鈥� a date he said he regularly had with his late wife.

After serving as a law clerk for Judge Collins Seitz on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Browning clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell from 1982 to 1983. At his wife鈥檚 urging, Browning said, he and his family returned to New Mexico, where he served as a deputy state attorney general under Republican Attorney General Hal Stratton. He then entered private practice in Albuquerque.

In 2003, Browning was nominated to the federal bench by President George W. Bush and won unanimous Senate confirmation with the support of New Mexico鈥檚 U.S. senators, Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman.

It isn鈥檛 clear who will be nominated to fill his seat. He has been on senior status since February. Four other federal judges in New Mexico are on senior status, a form of  semi-retirement that allows them to work a reduced caseload without reduced pay.

Browning recalled  his early days on the bench were consumed by jury trials 鈥� 32 in two years, a feat he said is uncommon these days.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be hard for anybody here today probably to catch up with me on the number of trials I鈥檝e had.鈥�

In 2019, he inherited the long-running U.S. Department of Justice civil rights settlement with the city of Albuquerque that led to significant changes aimed at reducing excessive force, reforming Internal Affairs and increasing accountability in the Albuquerque Police Department.

In his last major criminal jury trial, former state Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton, D-Albuquerque, was convicted of bribery, money laundering and other charges in connection with a scheme to defraud Albuquerque Public Schools.

In 2006, he presided over the trial of former New Mexico state Treasurer Robert Vigil, who was convicted of one count of attempted extortion.

But his docket also involved less high-profile criminal matters, including cases involving felons in possession of firearms and drug trafficking.

Browning acknowledges the job has changed him, but he has tried not to become hardened.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 become immune. 鈥� I remember the first time that I had a man in front of me. It was 4 o鈥檆lock in the afternoon, and I didn鈥檛 let him out of custody, and he went over to MDC and slit his wrist in the shower and committed suicide. And they called me just as I was pulling into the driveway. And I just sat in the car and cried,鈥� Browning said.

Over 23 years, Browning said he has had other similar cases involving defendants.

鈥淎nd you sort of quit crying. I鈥檓 not sure you get immune to it, but you鈥檝e seen it before, and sometimes it becomes part of you.鈥�

He said he has tried not to become cynical.

鈥淏ecause if you get cynical, you don鈥檛 realize people can change. They can reform. You want to leave that opportunity at every chance.鈥�

In the past 23 years, Browning said, 鈥淚 think I鈥檝e learned to make decisions quicker and write less.鈥�

From about 2016 to 2023, Browning presided over the historic prosecution of more than 150 members and associates of the violent prison gang Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico. A dozen SNM members were sentenced to life in prison in the massive racketeering case involving the gang, which operated inside New Mexico state prisons and in communities after members were released.

The hardened gang members on trial, including cooperators, required heightened security. Browning, along with prosecutors and the lead FBI agent on the case, was subjected to death threats at one time or another.

But Browning said he trusted the U.S. Marshals who provided security 鈥渢o do their job鈥� and focused instead on the criminal cases before him.

鈥淭hose men (in the SNM) treated me with respect,鈥� Browning said. 鈥淚 thought I developed a rapport with their leader and with them. I tried real hard to treat them with respect because, you know, they鈥檙e criminal defendants. They deserve a fair trial, and I wanted to make sure that they feel like they鈥檙e getting a fair trial.鈥�

He reassured members of the jury that they were safe, and 鈥渘ever had a juror have any problem.鈥�

Browning is known for his work ethic, and he says he鈥檚 also tried to be 鈥渁s neutral as I possibly could.鈥�

For example, he hasn鈥檛 voted in 23 years in an effort to 鈥渢ry to bring integrity to the decisions I had to make in sometimes politically charged cases.鈥�

In recent weeks, he has packed up his sixth-floor office, including the little green book from his childhood in Hobbs. His law clerks tracked down the book after the Hobbs Public Library reported that it had been donated to one of the junior colleges in the area. They swapped it for a new copy from Amazon and presented it to the judge.

He is considering becoming a mediator who negotiates disputes or an arbitrator who makes binding rulings. Or maybe he will even take flying lessons.

Leaving the federal bench 鈥渋s going to be hard on me in some ways. I certainly think it鈥檚 going to be an adjustment,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut you know, I鈥檝e had to give the actuarial table to many juries about how long a New Mexico male lives, and it鈥檚 about 77, and I鈥檓 70.

鈥淪o, if I want to have another chapter, if it鈥檚 with my grandchildren and children, or with mediations and arbitrations, I better get started.鈥�

Colleen Heild is an investigative reporter for the Journal. Reach her at cheild@abqjournal.com.