When he was chief judge, George Anaya Jr. meddled too much and worked too little, and that combination of micromanagement and absenteeism magnified the dysfunction at the Santa Fe County Magistrate Court, according to critics of the court.

Despite the criticism of Anaya, court reformers Arthur Pepin, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, and Karen Janes, director of the Magistrate Court Division, emphasized in a recent interview that a state Supreme Court order to fix Santa Fe County's Magistrate Court had nothing to do with judges' conduct.

Nevertheless, critics say that when measuring the court's efficiency, observers must take Anaya's performance into account.

Anaya became presiding judge when he replaced the retiring Bill Dimas in July 2006. Soon Anaya started micromanaging the staff and changing procedures, a court employee said.

"Things started really getting bad when Dimas left and Anaya took over," another member of the court staff said.

In Dimas' 10 years, a court employee couldn't recall Dimas ever dismissing a case on the six-month rule, which dictates that within six months, charges are to be prosecuted or dropped. In 2009, by comparison, Magistrate Court records show that dismissals based on the six-month rule are common.

Anaya "was responsible for the changes and policies that have resulted in the chaos that now characterizes the clerk's office," a defense lawyer said.

Anaya's micromanagement was one problem but not the only one, according to numerous lawyers and current and former employees. He also was frequently absent from the court, arriving to work late and leaving early, they said. That led to more work for the other three judges, which led to their frustration and resentment of Anaya, the employees said.

"It was like a joke around there among the clerks: Is Judge Anaya here?" another defense attorney said.

A court employee told of being in Anaya's courtroom when it was packed with defendants and lawyers one morning last spring. A friend of Anaya's came in, greeted the judge and suggested that the two of them go to breakfast in the near future, the employee said. Anaya then said, "Let's go now," and went out for breakfast with the man for more than two hours, the employee said. Two other employees confirmed the incident.

A court employee told of being in Anaya's courtroom when it was packed with defendants and lawyers one morning last spring. A friend of Anaya's came in, greeted the judge and suggested that the two of them go to breakfast in the near future, the employee said. Anaya then said, "Let's go now," and went out for breakfast with the man for more than two hours, the employee said. Two other employees confirmed the incident.

Anaya denied it occurred.

"That's not ever going to happen," he said. "Especially not with a courtroom full of people wanting to see me. I'm in there until I'm done."

One court employee said that since Padilla took over in January as presiding judge and since the AOC began watching the court, Anaya has been present more often. However, an incident about two months ago illustrated that Anaya was "up to his old habits," the employee said.

On the day in question, a jury trial scheduled for Anaya's court didn't happen, so the judge left, the employee said. Clerks, who didn't know the judge was gone, began sending him defendants who showed up without an appointment. When the clerks realized the judge wasn't in the building, they began sending the walk-ins to the other judges, the employee said. That prompted Padilla to call Anaya and order him to return to work, said an employee who heard Padilla on the phone. Two other Magistrate Court employees confirmed the story.

Anaya also remembered that day. He said he didn't have a clerk assigned to him that day and wouldn't have been able to process walk-in cases. He said he returned to the court after Padilla's call, but still couldn't hear walk-in cases for lack of a clerk.

Padilla also reluctantly acknowledged the incident. "I required him to come back," Padilla said. "All judges need to remind themselves that they have a responsibility to our constituents. We should try our best to accommodate them."

Anaya said he doesn't believe his behavior contributes to the inefficiency of the court. "I'm here early," he said. "I'm here late sometimes."