UNM alumna Lisa Torraco spoke to students Monday to address issues surrounding the race for the Bernalillo County district attorney position. The College Republicans hosted the question-and-answer meeting to endorse Torraco during a time that Torraco said "isn't the most popular time to be a Republican."
Donald Gluck, president of UNM College Republicans, said Torraco's experience makes her the best choice for district attorney compared to her opponent, incumbent Kari Brandenburg.
"She taught for 10 years at the UNM Law School and worked as a criminal prosecutor as well," Gluck said. "Those are just two examples of her experience, but she has worked in many different cities as well."
Torraco said she is qualified for the district attorney position because of the knowledge she gained at UNM and during her past decade of legal service.
"I went to UNM undergraduate and UNM Law School," she said. "When I graduated from law school, I worked with Bob Schwartz to toughen the rape laws, as they used to state that rape was OK by a spouse."
Torraco said her career was jumpstarted when she was hired to work with the District Attorney's Office before she even passed the State Bar Exam.
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"I worked here in Bernalillo County prosecuting DWI offenders and domestic violence cases," she said. "After years of doing cases on murder and rape and just about the whole gamut, I was asked to teach a class at UNM, which was the same class that inspired me to work with the District Attorney's Office."
Torraco said after working at UNM, she opened up her own practice to be a defense attorney.
"I honestly hoped that when I opened up my practice the phone wouldn't ring so that I could take the summer off and play with my kids," she said. "Sure enough, when I did open up my practice, my phone rang off the hook."
Torraco said her experience as a defense attorney opened her eyes to the vast number of wrongful convictions in the area.
"Before I was a defense attorney, I thought that there were hardly any, if any, innocent people in jail," she said. "There was a case recently of a mentally disabled man with an IQ of 63, who was held for three years while all along the D.A. knew that the DNA did not match and that the other evidence didn't match up - and that didn't happen on my watch."
Torraco said she was infuriated to see those "tremendous injustices."
On the other hand, she decided she would be stricter when it came to repeat offenders and sterner with first time offenders.
"I believe that everyone should have that second chance, but punishment needs to be felt for the first action and crime, because if it is not, there is no reason why a person would not do the crime - or worse - again," Torraco said. "When we do find a repeat criminal, the punishment should be more severe to rehabilitate that individual and keep them off the streets where they could do more harm."
Torraco said Brandenburg's conviction rate, which is somewhere between 35 and 57 percent, is too low, and that raising that conviction rate will be her top priority if she's elected.
"Ultimately, my goal is to cut violent crime in Albuquerque, and we do that by being tougher on repeat offenders," she said. "I would like to put more experienced attorneys in the misdemeanor department and restructure that department."
Torraco said she would like to receive special funding in the first year for special prosecutors to clear up the backlog.
"A lot of people have to wait over a year for their case to be heard, and that jeopardizes their ability to get a job or move on in life," she said.
Torraco said she would also like to create more transparency in the District Attorney's Office to allow citizens the right to see cases and how they play out.
"I would like to start a preliminary hearing system," Torraco said. "Preliminary hearings are done public and in a courtroom where people can come and see the case - that allows for more transparency in the legal system."
Max Fitzpatrick, a first year Ph.D. student who attended Torraco's presentation, said that although Torraco might have the right idea, her desires are unrealistic.
"I think that she seemed very professional," Fitzpatrick said. "I think that she may have too big of dreams though, especially with the D.A.'s Office having limited resources."
Fitzpatrick said Brandenburg seems to be doing a good job in the district attorney post.
"I think that if a problem is demonstrated, then a person should vote for change," Fitzpatrick said. "I had no idea of who I would be voting for before this, and I am just trying to do my research now to make an informed decision."
