SANTA FE, N.M. — Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, resigned from the New Mexico House of Representatives on Thursday, a day after a federal judge ruled that serving as a legislator and a special prosecutor at the same time violated the state Constitution.

In a letter to Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, Reeb said she disagrees with the ruling but believes “resignation is the appropriate course.” The letter is dated Oct. 15 and effective that day. Reeb, a former 9th Judicial District attorney, represented House District 64, which covers Chaves, Curry and Roosevelt counties, and was unopposed for re-election this fall.

The Baldwin case

The ruling came in a civil lawsuit filed by actor Alec Baldwin against the prosecutors who charged him with involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust.”

First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies appointed Reeb a special prosecutor in August 2022. Reeb won her House seat that November and took office Jan. 1, 2023. In February 2023, Baldwin’s attorneys moved to disqualify her, arguing the dual roles violated the separation of powers. Reeb withdrew from the case in March 2023. The criminal case against Baldwin was later dismissed.

In Wednesday’s order, U.S. District Judge Kea Riggs found that a special prosecutor is a public officer who exercises the state’s sovereign power, and that Reeb therefore violated Article III, Section 1 of the New Mexico Constitution by holding two offices in different branches. Riggs rejected reasoning in a 2024 opinion from Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s office, which concluded a legislator could serve as a special prosecutor in isolated matters.

Riggs also ruled that Reeb and Carmack-Altwies are shielded by absolute prosecutorial immunity for most of the conduct Baldwin challenged, including the decision to charge him. The judge found Reeb had at least a colorable claim of authority under state law. Claims over Reeb’s pre-charge review of reports, witness interviews and her public statements were not dismissed and will proceed.

Legislative record

Reeb’s legislative work centered on public safety and juvenile justice. Her longest-running effort was a bill raising the penalty for aggravated battery on a peace officer causing great bodily harm or involving a deadly weapon from a third- to a second-degree felony. She introduced versions in 2023 (HB 155), 2024 (HB 61) and 2025 (HB 103). Earlier versions cleared the House but stalled in a Senate committee. The 2026 version, HB 61, passed the Senate 37-0 and was signed into law.

In 2025 she sponsored HB 134, a juvenile justice overhaul. The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee tabled it 4-2 along party lines after it was cut from 52 pages to eight. Among her other 2025 bills, HB 102 would have limited good-time credit for people convicted of homicide by vehicle, and HB 104 would have extended Victims of Crime Act rights to officers who are crime victims. Both cleared House Judiciary. For 2026, she pre-filed juvenile bills including HB 78 and HB 79, which proposed expanding when youths can be sentenced as adults.

Reason for resignation

In a news release from House Republicans, Reeb said she had relied on guidance from the State Ethics Commission and the attorney general’s 2024 opinion. “I respectfully disagree with the Court, but I respect our Constitution and the institutions that uphold it,” she said. The release said she chose to keep her commitments to crime victims and did not identify the cases.

The ruling follows a September dispute over Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, who left a part-time job with the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office after Torrez concluded it violated state law.

County commissions in Reeb’s district will nominate a replacement, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will make the appointment.