(Deming) - A court has ordered New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez to answer questions under oath in a defamation lawsuit linked to a group that was removed from a political event in Deming in 2014.
Martinez must submit to a deposition after Scott and Colette Chandler sued her state police security detail.
Martinez is not a defendant in the lawsuit, but state District Judge Timothy Aldrich rejected arguments that she is protected from answering questions.
The Chandlers own the Tierra Blanca Ranch program for troubled youth that has been dogged by allegations of abuse and neglect.
The Chandlers and more than a dozen supporters appeared in 2014 at a campaign event at Deming's Grand Motor Inn to deliver a petition to the governor in defense of the ranch's embattled youth program. The entire group was removed from the event by state police assigned to protect Martinez.
The lawsuit alleges that being thrown out of the event constituted defamation and assault and that it harmed the Chandlers' reputation and business.
A trial in the defamation case is scheduled in April.
Martinez must submit to a deposition after Scott and Colette Chandler sued her state police security detail.
Martinez is not a defendant in the lawsuit, but state District Judge Timothy Aldrich rejected arguments that she is protected from answering questions.
The Chandlers own the Tierra Blanca Ranch program for troubled youth that has been dogged by allegations of abuse and neglect.
The Chandlers and more than a dozen supporters appeared in 2014 at a campaign event at Deming's Grand Motor Inn to deliver a petition to the governor in defense of the ranch's embattled youth program. The entire group was removed from the event by state police assigned to protect Martinez.
The lawsuit alleges that being thrown out of the event constituted defamation and assault and that it harmed the Chandlers' reputation and business.
A trial in the defamation case is scheduled in April.
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