Updated 2:53 p.m. Former Children's Court Judge Tommy Jewell said today he is considering withdrawing his name from consideration as the new boss of the state Children, Youth and Families Department because of a 1998 allegation of domestic violence he did not disclose to the Governor's Office.

Jewell, in a phone interview from his home, said he is evaluating the situation and might bow out if the revelation of an old allegation overshadows the new position he calls his dream job.

"I want to go in to CYFD to do good," Jewell said this morning. "But if it looks to me that I am more the issue than the department, then I'm going to ask the governor not to give me the position."

Gov. Bill Richardson's staff spoke with Jewell and is reviewing the allegation, spokesman Pahl Shipley said, but as of this morning, the appointment stood.

Jewell said he would likely not make a decision today and was unsure when he might do so, adding that he will rely on "a lot of prayer, a lot of help and a lot of strength from others to make that decision."

The allegation stems from a woman's request for a temporary restraining order against Jewell.

Before the allegation could be made public at a hearing scheduled 10 days later, the case was transferred to Sandoval County, where it was settled and sealed by state District Judge Louis McDonald, according to a Tribune story published in 1999.

The 10-day hearing is a routine procedure to determine whether the temporary restraining order has merit.

"It is my understanding that the settlement was reached in the case and the restraining ordered was denied," Shipley said.

Attempts by the media to have the case unsealed back then were denied. McDonald told a Tribune reporter at the time that opening the file was inappropriate "because the file does not contain any information which would serve any purpose other than to gratify private spite and promote public scandal."

That, a leading advocate against domestic violence says, is inappropriate.

"For me, he (Jewell) needs to be treated like all accused domestic violence offenders," said Agnes Maldonado, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence and a longtime friend of Jewell's.

"I like Tommy as a person and find myself in a really hard position," she said. "But it's wrong to seal a case as some sort of special treatment to someone just because he was a judge or CYFD secretary. There's no tolerance for domestic violence."

The Governor's Office will not ask that the case be unsealed, Shipley said.

The allegation was not unearthed in a background check done on Jewell, and Jewell did not inform the governor of the allegation, Shipley said.

"A background check covers a lot of areas, but this did not come up," he said.

Jewell said today he had not told the governor about the allegation because he thought it had been dealt with sufficiently. No criminal charges were filed, a search of court documents shows.

He declined to speak further on the allegation, citing the settlement's order of confidentiality.

Jewell referred to McDonald's words at the time the case was sealed. He also said that while the temporary restraining order process encourages easy access by the public, "every now and then it's abused."

The allegation, he said, surfaced during a painful, tough time for him and his family but that in the end he emerged stronger in his marriage to fellow state District Judge Angela Jewell, who sits on the Family Court bench of the 2nd Judicial District in Bernalillo County.

He said he would not say anything acrimonious about the woman behind the allegation, which could lose him the job he is supposed to start Monday and which he said he is still excited to undertake.

"It's such a great challenge," he said. "Whoever gets the job is fortunate."

The state Senate must confirm the appointment.

Karen Summers, the woman behind the allegation, could not be reached for comment.

KRQE News 13 reported this morning that it spoke with Summers and that she wants to talk to Richardson.

In 1999, she told The Tribune about having her case cloaked in confidentiality. A restriction imposed by the settlement forbade her and all other parties from discussing the matter publicly, she said.

"The secrecy is what has been hurting me and my children," she said then. "I have nothing to hide. I have no desire to be secret."

Summers said the restriction prevented her from responding to an inquiry conducted by the state Judicial Standards Commission.

The allegation apparently never resulted in a reprimand by the state Supreme Court, a search through records kept by the Judicial Standards Commission for fiscal years 1998, 1999 and 2000 indicate.

James Noel, executive director and general counsel for the commission, said he could not say whether Jewell was investigated, because all matters are kept confidential unless the commission recommends to the state Supreme Court that a judge should be sanctioned.

Jewell, 51, retired from the bench in September after serving in the Children's Court in Albuquerque since 1991, much of that time as its presiding judge.

The case lodged by Summers was transferred to Sandoval County in the 13th Judicial District because of the conflict of interest posed by having both Jewells on the bench of the 2nd Judicial District.

Tribune reporter Susie Gran contributed to this story.