A New Mexico agency charged with investigating judicial misconduct is seeking the removal of an Eddy County magistrate judge over racist and sexist emails.
The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission petitioned this week for a permanent removal from office of Eddy County Magistrate Court Judge Henry Castaneda.
According to the petition, Castaneda allegedly used state-owned equipment to accept and forward emails through his court account that contained “offensive, degrading, pornographic, racist and sexist” content. The agency says the behavior violates the judiciary’s code of conduct. Castaneda served as a magistrate judge from 2003 through 2010, and took the bench again in 2013. He did not immediately return a phone message.
