This week's guest on REPORT FROM SANTA FE is Charles Daniels, Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court, discussing the bail reform Constitutional Amendment #1 which will be on the November ballot and aims to correct the failings of the current money bond system.

The bail reform amendment makes necessary and historic changes to New Mexico's bail bond system, which now releases dangerous defendants into the community while holding harmless nonviolent defendants in jail because they cannot raise the money to pay their way out of jail. It will replace money-based release with evidence-based release of defendants.

Passage of this amendment will result in great monetary savings, especially for county jails. Approximately 39% of inmates in county jails are eligible for release but do not have the money to post bond. Bernalillo County currently spends about $60,000 per day housing 500 inmates who can't post bond.

Chief Justice Charles Daniels got his law degree from the University of New Mexico where he graduated first in his class and was editor-in-chief of the law review.

During his 38 years as a lawyer before being appointed to the Court, Justice Daniels combined frequent classroom teaching, primarily at the UNM School of Law, with an active courtroom practice in a wide range of civil and criminal cases. He been honored by the Albuquerque Bar Association with its Outstanding Lawyer of the Year award and by the New Mexico Bar Association with its Quality of Life award.

Justice Charles Daniels was initially appointed to the Supreme Court in October 2007 on recommendation of the nonpartisan Judicial Nominating Commission. He served as Chief Justice between 2010 and 2012 and has been selected by his fellow Justices to serve a second two-year term as Chief Justice from 2016 to 2018.