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Briana H. Zamora

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Briana H. Zamora
Image of Briana H. Zamora
New Mexico Supreme Court
Tenure

2021 - Present

Term ends

2032

Years in position

4

Prior offices
New Mexico 2nd Judicial District Court

New Mexico Court of Appeals

Compensation

Base salary

$232,606

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Appointed

July 16, 2021

Education

Bachelor's

New Mexico State University

Law

University of New Mexico School of Law, 2000

Contact

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

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
Image of Briana H. Zamora
Briana H. Zamora (D)
 
54.2
 
375,836
Image of Kerry Morris
Kerry Morris (R)
 
45.8
 
318,215

Total votes: 694,051
Candidate Connection = candidate completed 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
Image of Briana H. Zamora
Briana H. Zamora
 
100.0
 
114,245

Total votes: 114,245
Candidate Connection = 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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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
Image of Kerry Morris
Kerry Morris
 
100.0
 
91,298

Total votes: 91,298
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: New Mexico intermediate appellate court elections, 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
Image of Briana H. Zamora
Briana H. Zamora (D)
 
57.8
 
390,971
Image of Emil Kiehne
Emil Kiehne (R)
 
42.2
 
285,554

Total votes: 676,525
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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
Image of Briana H. Zamora
Briana H. Zamora
 
100.0
 
135,336

Total votes: 135,336
Candidate Connection = 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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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
Image of Emil Kiehne
Emil Kiehne
 
100.0
 
64,967

Total votes: 64,967
Candidate Connection = 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.


Briana H. Zamora campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* New Mexico Supreme CourtWon general$0 $0
2022New Mexico Supreme CourtWon general$296,464 $296,464
Grand total$296,464 $296,464
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

Appointments

2021

See also: New Mexico Supreme Court justice vacancy (June 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

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

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

New Mexico Judicial Selection More Courts
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Courts in New Mexico
New Mexico Court of Appeals
New Mexico Supreme Court
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Gubernatorial appointments
Judicial selection in New Mexico
Federal courts
State courts
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External links

Footnotes