New Mexico high court suspends lawyer for disregarding rules

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court has suspended an Albuquerque attorney's law license for at least 18 months for failing to obey court rules and an initial disciplinary order.
The justices' unanimous opinion Thursday says Daniel M. Salazar flagrantly and intentionally disregarded rules on filing deadlines for appeals and a requirement that he notify clients that he'd been suspended in 2018 from practicing law for at least a year.
The ruling says it's unacceptable that Salazar left a client convicted of first-degree murder in limbo for nearly three years before filing a notice of appeal after the client was sentenced. Those notices must be filed within 30 days.
The ruling says the court hopes the latest discipline salvages Salazar's "potential and ability to practice law."