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Briana H. Zamora
2021 - Present
2032
4
Briana H. Zamora (Democratic Party) is a judge of the New Mexico Supreme Court. She assumed office on August 9, 2021. Her current term ends on December 31, 2032.
Zamora ran for re-election for judge of the New Mexico Supreme Court. She won in the retention election on November 5, 2024.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) appointed Zamora to the New Mexico Supreme Court on July 16, 2021, to replace Judge Barbara J. Vigil.[1] To read more about this appointment, click here.
Biography
Education
Zamora received an undergraduate degree from New Mexico State University and a J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2000.[2]
Career
- 2021 - Present: Judge, New Mexico Supreme Court
- 2018-2021: Judge, New Mexico Court of Appeals
- 2013-2018: Judge, Second Judicial District Court
- 2009-2013: Judge, Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court[2]
Elections
2024
See also: New Mexico Supreme Court elections, 2024
New Mexico Supreme Court
Briana H. Zamora was retained to the New Mexico Supreme Court on November 5, 2024 with 70.7% of the vote.
Retention Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✔ | Yes |
70.7
|
524,294 | ||
No |
29.3
|
217,227 | |||
Total Votes |
741,521 | ||||
|
|
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Zamora in this election.
2022
See also: New Mexico Supreme Court elections, 2022
General election
General election for New Mexico Supreme Court
Incumbent Briana H. Zamora defeated Kerry Morris in the general election for New Mexico Supreme Court on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Briana H. Zamora (D) | 54.2 | 375,836 |
 | Kerry Morris (R) | 45.8 | 318,215 | |
| Total votes: 694,051 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Mexico Supreme Court
Incumbent Briana H. Zamora advanced from the Democratic primary for New Mexico Supreme Court on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Briana H. Zamora | 100.0 | 114,245 |
| Total votes: 114,245 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for New Mexico Supreme Court
Kerry Morris advanced from the Republican primary for New Mexico Supreme Court on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kerry Morris | 100.0 | 91,298 |
| Total votes: 91,298 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for New Mexico Court of Appeals
Briana H. Zamora defeated incumbent Emil Kiehne in the general election for New Mexico Court of Appeals on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Briana H. Zamora (D) | 57.8 | 390,971 |
 | Emil Kiehne (R) | 42.2 | 285,554 | |
| Total votes: 676,525 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Mexico Court of Appeals
Briana H. Zamora advanced from the Democratic primary for New Mexico Court of Appeals on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Briana H. Zamora | 100.0 | 135,336 |
| Total votes: 135,336 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for New Mexico Court of Appeals
Incumbent Emil Kiehne advanced from the Republican primary for New Mexico Court of Appeals on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Emil Kiehne | 100.0 | 64,967 |
| Total votes: 64,967 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
- See also: New Mexico judicial elections, 2014
Zamora was retained to the 2nd District Court with 72.7 percent of the vote on November 4, 2014.[3]
Judicial performance evaluation
The New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission did not provide a rating for Judge Zamora, based on insufficient time in office. The full report is available here.
2012
- See also: New Mexico judicial elections, 2012
Briana Zamora defeated Brett Rogers Loveless, receiving 57.5% of the vote in the race for the New Mexico Second Judicial District Court. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary on June 5.[4][5]
2010
- See also: New Mexico judicial elections, 2010
Judge Zamora ran unopposed to retain her seat in the 2010 elections, receiving 100% of the vote. She was re-elected to the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court in New Mexico.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Briana H. Zamora did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Briana H. Zamora did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Appointments
2021
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) appointed Briana Zamora to the New Mexico Supreme Court on July 16, 2021.[6] Zamora succeeded Justice Barbara J. Vigil, who retired on June 30, 2021.[7] Zamora was Gov. Lujan Grisham's fourth nominee to the five-member supreme court.
Under New Mexico law at the time of the vacancy, midterm state supreme court vacancies were filled through assisted gubernatorial appointment, where the governor would select a nominee based on recommendations from a judicial nominating commission. Appointees would serve until the next general election, in which they must participate in a partisan election to remain on the bench for the remainder of the unexpired term.[8][7]
Noteworthy cases
The section below lists noteworthy cases heard by this judge. To suggest cases we should cover here, email us.
State supreme court judicial selection in New Mexico
- See also: Judicial selection in New Mexico
The five justices of the New Mexico Supreme Court are chosen through partisan elections. After serving for one year, the appointed justice must win the first partisan general election after their appointment to serve the remainder of the unexpired term. Justices serve eight-year terms.[9] To serve additional terms, justices must receive at least 57% of the vote in a retention election.[9]
Qualifications
To serve on the supreme court, a person must:
- be at least 35 years old;
- have practiced law for ten years before assuming office; and
- have been a New Mexico resident for three years before assuming office.[10]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the supreme court is selected by a peer vote of the justices to serve a two-year term. The chief justice must have been elected to the court, not appointed to fill a vacancy.[11]
Vacancies
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a justice from a list of qualified candidates recommended by a judicial nominating commission. The appointed judge will serve until the first general election held one year after their appointment. The appointee must run in that general election to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.[12]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Sante Fe New Mexican, "Appeals court judge appointed to New Mexico Supreme Court," July 16, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Office of the Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, "Governor fills Supreme Court vacancy," July 16, 2021
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "2014 Primary Candidate List," accessed August 12, 2021
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Primary results," accessed June 6, 2012
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Canvass of Returns of General Election Held on November 6, 2012 – State of New Mexico," accessed August 12, 2021
- ↑ Office of the Governor - Michelle Lujan Grisham, "Governor fills Supreme Court vacancy," July 16, 2021
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 KRQE, "High court justice, who authored end to execution, to retire," April 28, 2021
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: New Mexico," accessed June 17, 2021
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 New Mexico Secretary of State, "Constitution," accessed September 2, 2021 (Article VI Section 33) Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "nmconst33" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Constitution," accessed September 2, 2021 (Article VI Section 8)
- ↑ NMOneSource.com, "Current New Mexico Statutes Annotated 1978," accessed September 2, 2021 (Chapter 34 Article 2)
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Constitution," accessed March 29, 2024 (Article VI Section 35)
Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of New Mexico • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of New Mexico
State courts:
New Mexico Supreme Court • New Mexico Court of Appeals • New Mexico District Courts • New Mexico Magistrate Court • New Mexico Municipal Courts • New Mexico Probate Courts • New Mexico Problem-Solving Courts • New Mexico Workers' Compensation Administration Court • Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court
State resources:
Courts in New Mexico • New Mexico judicial elections • Judicial selection in New Mexico
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