Ordinarily I would consider the actions of a judge as a civil plaintiff to be merely collateral to the matter of judicial competence. In this case that is not the situation. In this instance the cases in which Judge Griffin is a plaintiff are the kind that are routinely heard by NM magistrate judges. In her time in office she seems to have done nothing except collect a paycheck. You think I jest? Read on and in a few paragraphs you will understand why the New Mexico Supreme Court has scarcely an excuse to allow this nominal judge to remain on the bench.

Let me back up a little to give this CF a little context. A couple of weeks ago Judge Griffin filed an Unlawful Detainer suit in Otero County Magistrate Court against a man that claims he has an agreement with Judge Griffin’s son to reside on a property owned by Susan Griffin. As a result of multiple recusals by local judges have caused the case to take a little longer to get to court than was acceptable to Judge Griffin, so a few days ago she filed what could best be described as vexatious litigation. In this case Judge Griffin filed a new Unlawful Detainer case against the same defendant, alleging the same material facts while the earlier case is still pending.

Not everything is the same. The plaintiff in this latest case amended the court form to seek the wrong remedy and demands a jury trial to get it. For reasons I will discuss this is is both funny and sad. Well it would be funny if this was a sitcom and Susan E. Griffin was merely an actress playing a judge on TV and not a real life magistrate judge hearing cases like this all the time.

In her Complaint Judge Griffin amends the court form to ask for a “3 Day Writ of Restitution” which is an apparent reference to an Owner-Resident (47-8-46 NMSA 1978) remedy rather than the forthwith removal via Writ of Execution provided for in the Unlawful Detainer statute (35-10-6 NMSA 1978). The poor woman seems senile.

Next Judge Susan Griffin amends the court form to demand a jury trial. Here is another little nugget – Right to a trial by jury does not exist in an action for forcible entry and detainer in the absence of statutory authority. Reece v. Montano, 1943-NMSC-054, 48 N.M. 1, 144 P.2d 461.

It would seem some sanctions should be in order for dogpiling case after case on the same set of circumstances. Does anyone know if Mrs. Griffin drinks?

Just when you think defendant Catron County Magistrate Susan E. “Ma” Griffin and her crime family have reached the pinnacle of absurdity – they file another paper. This time the paper is the Answer to the Complaint by her tenant/remodeler. In a rambling half page consisting mostly of drama Ma Griffin indirectly implicates her boy Couy in fraud and also has him lying to the court. Let me take you one a tour of the set of Dim and Dimmer.

Perhaps the most comical part of the Answer is that all 3 defendants are at such a loss to keep their various lies straight they filed a consolidated answer that amounts to all 3 signing the answer written by defendant Catron County Magistrate Susan E. Griffin variously in first and third person. She also demands a jury trial making the concept of a consolidated defense seem ridiculous, especially defendant Chris Lord since he is not implicated in most of the shenanigans.

What is interesting about the Answer, aside from the grammar and punctuation, is that it categorically denies the existence of an agreement or permission of any kind for the tenant to be there even though the defendants are aware of a tiktok video showing Couy Griffin discussing a lease that tenant was to sign a lease as part of his compensation for the work he had already done and was to do in the future. However, in a filing in a separate case Susan Griffin claims at the time Couy Griffin was using a lease he was not authorized to execute to compensate and further induce tenant to do work, that she had a tenant lined up months in advance. Now Ma Griffin is attempting to use this position to dispossess resident/worker of the rental like the Couy lease and electric video never happened. Ma and Couy need to be cooling their heels in prison for attempting to run this con on the tenant and the court.

I was delighted to see Mrs. Griffin wants a trial which means the tenant can question these criminals under oath. I think I will ask 12th Judicial District Attorney Scot Key to send someone over to witness this shell game being unmasked. I mean fraud is a crime.

Stay tuned the Griffin Crime Family is too stupid to shut up now and I don’t suppose that will change in the future.

I wondered what sort of critter had raised Couy Griffin, disgraced former Otero County Commissioner. At first I thought I would find a jackal. Instead I found the head of the Griffin Crime Family, Catron County Magistrate Judge Susan E. Griffin. Tonight I will take you on a little journey through some of the facts that will explain why they won’t sue me for calling Susan a criminal that should be removed from the bench. Come on while I shine a little light on this nest of cockroaches.

The subject of tonight’s adventure is a small shack in the desert, fraud, perjury and a game of Mommy Hide My Assets. Let us start with the hide the assets business. Shortly after the 10th Circuit shot down Couy Griffin’s last chance at avoiding substantial fines for running an unregistered PAC Couy transferred his sole asset subject to execution – a rental property – to his mommy – for the sole purpose of attempting to hide that asset. An examination of police reports and social media demonstrates Couy consistently refers to “his property” only calling it his momma’s for the purpose of enraging his social media following.

So far we have a sitting Magistrate conspiring with her son to defraud the state and obstruct justice. That is just the beginning for Ma Griffin and her J6 probationer son. More recently these 2 swindlers, joined by Couy’s Ex, found a way to bilk a worker out of wages and renege on his contract with this worker. Part of the agreement between Couy Griffin was room and board during the conduct of the work. That meant living in an unlivable construction site. When it came time to do the right thing and compensate the worker Susan E. Griffin filles suit in Otero County Magistrate Court claiming that the worker was a squatter that needed removed. In one of her rambling filings she claims to have been unaware worker was residing there while several social media videos clearly show that Couy Griffin knew. Getting the picture?

In her suit in Magistrate Susan E. Griffin spends 80% of her writing on character attacks on the worker based on second and third hand hearsay offering little factual basis to treat the worker as a squatter rather than a tenant which he clearly is if they are not paying him cash for his work and is living on the premises. She simply claims she knew nothing. After filing her action she has paid a person, Chris Lord, to harass the worker both in person and online clicking likes on death threat posts directed towards the worker. This is all documented in the dozen or so police reports over as many days.

In a bizarre twist after filing her action in Otero Magistrate Susan Griffin served another 3 day eviction notice alleging a different genesis of the action. I will keep following this to see what the Griffins might be up to next.

Basically Couy Griffin lured this worker across the country with promises of work and instead gets the work done, refuses to pay even minimum wage and now his momma, who is nominal owner due to the obstruction of justice, threatens to have the sheriff make him homeless. In the process Couy Griffin got himself arrested for extrajudicial eviction tactics on behalf of the property owner, his mommy. Sorting out who perpetrated which crimes I will leave that to our ever vigilant 12th Judicial District Attorney Scot Key.

Couy has his enablers in the community and it is time for them to be called out as well, but I will leave you in suspense till next time.

Tonight I am going to tell you a story. A story of a man both small and petty yet poisonous to the community like meth. A story of a man that embodies greed and evil, hypocrisy and dishonesty giving sleaze a bad name wrapped tightly in sanctimonious piety for the sole purpose of avoiding a day’s work. I refer, of course, to disgraced former Otero County District II Commissioner and current J6 probationer Couy Griffin. A man that puts the free in freeloading and con in con man. The story is as pathetic as it is vile leaving this tale in need of 3 parts. In tonight’s installment I will explore the latest scam being run by our very own lord of the flies.

Griffin’s latest scam bit him in the ass last weekend leaving him in jail for 3 days. Our story begins when, last year, Couy became civilly exposed owing to some unpaid fines. In an attempt to avoid a lien Griffin transferred his rental property to his mother, Susan Griffin, of Reserve, NM. The scheme to hide Couy’s assets follows on the heels of material misstatements about his finances to both federal and state courts in order to secure taxpayer funded lawyers in his several criminal cases. Let’s get into the details.

Couy Griffin makes his living soliciting donations under the guise of various needs from fundraisers to pay for lawyers to his current gofundme which is more honest than most of his fundraisers as it simply asks the reader to send him money so he can avoid getting a job.

Recently I have been removed from office for only standing up and fighting for transparency and justice. This results in losing my livelihood.

If you can help in this difficult time your help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Couy Griffin

Griffin has raised over $25,000 on that fundraiser yet the taxpayers are again footing the bill for his criminal defense. He isn’t raising it off of millionaires either. Here is a $25 donor:

Dear Sir, I’m a retired 81 year old Texas woman who can’t do much in this fight except support you with prayer and a small donation. I pray God will bless you in your travails in the courts, give you HIS perfect peace, and the legal help you need. GOD keep you in your walk with Him. Sincerely, Miss [redacted]

Now you might be asking yourself why this fine fella needs a criminal defense attorney again. For that we have to circle back to that rental property Griffin no longer owns. In order to get this shack fixed up enough to compete with trailer park rentals Griffin engaged a painter from the east coast to travel to Otero County to work rehabbing this property. Couy ended up not keeping up his end of the bargain and the whole thing ended up in landlord tenant court because housing was part of the deal. Keep in mind Couy does not even own the property. On 3 occasions Griffin took it upon himself to enter the residence included as compensation for the paint contract to harass the resident after eviction and counter suit were filed. OSCO deputies were dispatched at least 6 times to the home incident to Couy Griffin trespassing in and around the residence before deputies finally arrested Griffin for 3 counts of trespassing and 2 counts of criminal harassment which is why Couy wants a free lawyer.

The short of it is Griffin basically stranded the painter and refused to keep his end of the agreement.

Now for you unfortunate folks that bought into this corn pone cowboy story I regret to have to inform you it is as phony as the rest of the Griffin persona. As a young adult Couy Griffin worked in the wild west show at Euro Disney until complications led to a quick departure. Upon his return to the USA he realized how people liked the horse and started Griffin Brothers Wild West Show and Rural Ministries Inc, a nonprofit corporation. There is no doubt Griffin wanted to be a cowboy, but his rodeo results showed he was better suited for grift. This turned out to be true.

For those of you that consider yourselves conservatives how is it possible for you to support a professional beggar who leeches free lawyers off the government? How do you social conservatives reconcile his bible thumping with his drinking, pot smoking and conduct too immoral to detail here? But he says what you want to hear, right?

Mike Morris – InFocus

Sorry folks for being so late into the game in the matter of Commissioner Couy Griffin ripping off the taxpayers to play cowboy and stay solvent. As I look at what appears to be going on the County Manager introduces herself as either grossly incompetent or a willing accomplice to Griffin in his scheme to defraud the taxpayers. Answering the question of which is as important as delivering a turnkey case to prosecutors detailing Couy Griffin’s criminal conduct. There is a lot to do, so let’s get started.

The subject of today’s inquiry is a travel reimbursement foisted on the county by Commissioner Griffin to pay for his party trip to DC complete with horse and massive trailer to get a photo op with the President in his Cowboys for Trump logo shirt. Yeah that’s right Griffin took his PAC on the road to DC to supplicate himself to trump and stick you with a bill north of $3200 for the trip. A recent article in the Alamogordo Daily News quotes Griffin claiming he has since repaid the county the funds he stole. While the problems with these acts are many let’s look at what the law says happens when you put in unlawful mileage and per diem:

NMSA 10-8-7. Penalty.

Any public officer or employee covered by the Per Diem and Mileage Act who knowingly authorizes or who knowingly accepts payment in excess of the amount allowed by the Per Diem and Mileage Act or in excess of the amount authorized by the secretary or the governing board pursuant to Section 10-8-5 NMSA 1978 is liable to the state in an amount that is twice the excess payment.

What the hell is going on here. Without going into the weeds the claimed purpose trip would allow $1,100 – $1,200 leaving an excess of ~$2,000 requiring a repayment of $4,000. If Griffin is telling the truth that he repaid the entire reimbursement that is suggestive that the whole trip was tossed from taxpayer funding meaning that Couy Griffin owes $6,400, not $3,200. No one has the authority to waive this penalty, but that is what is going on right under our noses. The question is the cause – incompetence of the county and its counsel or a good ole boy Mulligan.

While the penalty in the Mileage and Per Diem Act is worth noting here the real meat of this matter is the felonious conduct of Griffin to bilk the taxpayers out of thousands while laughing in your faces. Let’s simplify things by assuming for the moment that Griffin returned all of the money because there was no legitimate county business in the 7 day equestrian excursion though we were billed for the adventure.

Let’s look at Griffin’s conduct against a backdrop of the law to see whether Couy should be a third or fourth degree felon once this is finally prosecuted. First let us look at what fraud means at New Mexico law:

NMSA 30-16-6. Fraud.

A.  Fraud consists of the intentional misappropriation or taking of anything of value that belongs to another by means of fraudulent conduct, practices or representations.

So like taking a trip on behalf of your PAC with horse in tow billing the trip to the county? The amount of the fraudulent bill was in excess of $3,200. What does the law say about that?

E. Whoever commits fraud when the value of the property misappropriated or taken is over two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) but not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) is guilty of a third degree felony.

Did I stutter? The question isn’t why this guy is still in office. The question is why he is still on the street? Defendants are routinely charged with far less serious crimes than this. It is a third degree felony for crying out loud.

With your help and a little publicity we will get answers and results. For the time being you might want to ask DA John Sugg why he has recused himself from these cases leaving us at the mercy of Santa Fe.

InFocus – Mike Morris

Our District II Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin has been in the news a lot this year. From assertions that the only good Democrat is a dead one to suggestions that unhappy blacks head back to Africa to claims that Holloman AFB stacks the contracting deck against white men Griffin never disappoints. The problem is that Couy Griffin is a textbook carpetbagger with no ties to the community and articulated plans to return home to Reserve. That is a problem because District II is not inhabited by idiots though they can be fooled by a conman like Griffin. Let’s have a look at Griffin so we can better distinguish between fact and fiction regarding our intrepid self-styled cowboy.

After a string of drunken encounters with police early in adulthood Couy Griffin, son of a timberman, secured a job as a cowboy in a European amusement park show. After returning to the states Griffin and his family launched Griffin Brothers Wild West Show and Rural Ministries Inc., a nonprofit corporation. It is in that context that most of the community learned of Griffin’s existence when they were hired to perform at the Otero County Fair. Now don’t get me wrong. Couy wants to be a cowboy in the worst way. He wants to be a roper, but he sucks at it. Contemporaneous with the wild west show Griffin was inheriting a storefront church from his uncle. It was around that time Griffin met his current ex-wife.

Being a NM county commissioner doesn’t pay all that well. In order to supplement this stipend Griffin opened Cowboys for Trump LLC as a front for fundraising activities. The for profit LLC acts as an identity for Griffin, however a closer look at these fundraising operations reveals that the legal beneficiary and/or recipient of the funds raised is generally not Cowboys for Trump LLC, but rather individuals with no connection to the LLC. This is what tax evasion and money laundering look like.

Fortunately Couy Griffin lacks any morality in the way the term is generally understood. At the same time he is arrogant and not the sharpest tool in the shed. For our purposes this is the gift that keeps on giving. See it seems that Griffin lied about his income in a child support matter. There is currently a motion in that case to compel production of some financial documents from Commissioner LoudMouth. While it is unlikely these documents will become public their contents should trigger recognizable events in the record and serve as the basis for a perjury charge. That would be one easy avenue to pursue to scrape this barnacle from our hull. This would simply require a concerted effort to encourage prosecutors to apply some of that equal protection to this criminal.

While we are on the subject there is no way to sugar coat this – in order to avoid the appearance of a political hit job the case must not only establish the elements of the crime(s), but also be easy to understand by the very casual observer. The simplest way to work within this confine is provide the prosecutor with the evidence and the public an explanation of what is going on. I mean it is pretty hard to ignore a complex scheme to hide the loot in the context of child support determination.

In the end it will probably be the IRS that puts Couy Griffin in chains, but even that relies on a coordinated effort encouraging that agency to do its job. Ultimately it is up to the concerned citizens of Otero County that will make this happen or fail.

This would be so much easier if the mini crime wave would resign under his own steam, but this probably will not happen, so it is time to up the ante. Let’s do this thing.

Mike Morris – In Focus

Every time I think I am done writing something happens to change my mind. This time is different since my neighbors elected a carpetbagging grifter to the Otero County Commission. Leaving a wake of nationwide embarrassment, embezzlement of public funds and a string of shady happenings District II Commissioner Couy Griffin has shown himself unfit for any position of public trust. Chronicling the malfeasance of this elected officer is the reason I am writing again. The fact that Griffin isn’t breaking rocks for a living suggests the system is broken in its execution of the duties required of it. Let’s get to the bottom of of this.

In nearly 20 years of watching  Otero County politics I have seen everything from silly antics like the spaceport tax, cattails for fuel and water desalination to outright frauds like the multiple “cookie” companies looking to take a bite out of the public treasury, but never have I witnessed a morally bankrupt criminal like Couy Griffin holding public office.

OK, Mike you have accused the honorable commissioner of being a criminal. How about some facts to support this conclusory allegation? I’m glad you asked. This part is easy to understand. Griffin runs a for profit political organization Cowboys for Trump LLC, a New Mexico Limited Liability Company. This operation is also known as C4T and equips its leadership with C4T branded shirts. Griffin, in his capacity as Managing Member of the LLC, traveled to see trump. In a photo op Griffin is wearing the C4T shirt, not an Otero County shirt. That photo has become the centerpiece in the C4T/Griffin fundraising effort. The problem is that our felonious commissioner presented the county with a bill for his PR activities on behalf of his private business. Eventually Griffin was busted for the bogus bills and was required to pay back the money or have it paid on his behalf by undisclosed contributors.

This brings us to the second very important prong of the analysis of my claim that Griffin is guilty of felonious conduct in office and in the conduct of his official duties. That is whether returning or being gifted to return the loot excuses the initial crime. What public policy supports encouraging public officers to bilk the taxpayers with no consequences beyond returning the ill gotten booty if nabbed? Do we excuse a burglar, a pickpocket or a robber if he agrees to return the take if caught? Of course not. That would be absurd. How is it not absurd to grant immunity to a public officer that knowingly defrauds the taxpayer with bogus travel expenses? Let’s find out why our Attorney General is sitting on his hands.

There are numerous examples of less nefarious misfeasance and malfeasance in Griffin’s tenure such as misuse of county property, failing to attend meetings and a complete inability to do his job as a result of his Cowboys for Trump LLC employment. While these and many more are technically valid reasons to eject Griffin they tend to accumulate into a ball of noise and amount to being distracted by rabbits. Courts are going to frown on a shotgun approach filled with technicalities. That is not to say ignore incidents such as Griffin missing meetings due to outside employment whether or not the incompetent advice of the “county attorney” had him unlawfully participating from parts unknown. The nuance is not to look like some deranged hall monitor.

Currently there are groups contemplating removing Couy Griffin by the way of the hybrid judicial/political method of a recall election. While this method is indeed a valid means of removing an errant officer it may be too slow and cumbersome compared to the urgency of the task at hand. For that reason, among others beyond the scope of this essay, I want to concentrate on judicial removal for cause since it is evidence based and limited to instances of serious misconduct.

My intent is not actually to have Griffin removed from office. I want to see Couy Griffin dragged out in irons in the name of equal justice. Otherwise I will mount a relentless campaign against any public officer that refuses to do his duty under the law.

So stay tuned while we help the system render a just outcome.