A campus auditorium became a courtroom this morning, as the New Mexico Supreme Court convened in Albuquerque as part of an annual outreach program called The Rule of Law.

At Central New Mexico Community College’s Smith Brasher Hall, the justices heard oral arguments in a case involving a student’s discrimination claim against Albuquerque Public Schools.

Teacher Mary Eastin, according to the lawsuit, allegedly addressed a Navajo student as a “bloody Indian” during a Halloween class session at Cibola High School in 2018.

McKenzie Johnson, then a junior, sued in District Court, alleging a New Mexico Human Rights Act violation. The initial judge dismissed the lawsuit, agreeing with APS that the school wasn’t a “public accommodation,” under terms of the act.

The state Court of Appeals sided with the plaintiff, allowing the matter to go to trial; the district then appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Today’s hearing centered on whether the act, as it read at the time, regarded a public school as a public accommodation.

“This case is not about whether the actions of the teacher were wrong,” said APS attorney Roxie Rawls-De Santiago. “They were, in fact, wrong. There’s no question about that.”

She argued that a public school didn’t fit the statutory definition of public accommodation, as it wasn’t open to the public at-large.

American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico attorney Leon Howard, representing Johnson, noted that public schools have a mandate to offer education to children within their boundaries and therefore should be considered open to the public at large, despite not being accessible to everyone in the community.

Last year, the state Legislature changed the language of the act to specify that its anti-discrimination provision applies to governmental entities.

The incident

Johnson, according to published reports, had been dressed as Little Red Riding Hood; her costume included fake blood on her cheek. Eastin and some other students were also wearing costumes. 

According to the lawsuit, Eastin asked the student “what are you supposed to be? A bloody Indian?'”

In the same class, Eastin reportedly cut off part of another Indigenous student’s braid.

Teaching the system

The Supreme Court’s Rule of Law program, now in its fourth year, is an effort by the court to inform students of the way the court decides cases. About 260 students from high schools around the state were expected to attend the session, which was also streamed online in English and Spanish.

After the arguments, the justices and attorneys answered presubmitted questions from students about their process, preparation and sources of inspiration.

“It is important to us, my colleagues and myself, that New Mexico students understand the importance of the rule of law on society, their government and our court system,” Chief Justice David K. Thomson said. “And hopefully we may inspire a new generation of leaders.”

Carlos Chavez, a junior at Albuquerque Talent Development Academy, said he found the case interesting, and is pleased that discrimination is meeting more opposition than in the past (Eastin ceased to be employed by APS shortly after the incident). Chavez commended the Legislature for moving to clarify the law.

Emily Salt, a junior at Native American Community Academy, said Howard and Rawls-De Santiago seemed nervous — the attorneys admitted as much.

“But they handled the justices’ question really well,” she said.

Salt said she may consider the law as a career; Chavez also thinks it may suit him.

“I am still considering many options, but it is an interest,” he said.