Dennis Montoya
Dennis W. Montoya is an attorney in New Mexico. He practices mainly Civil Rights, Criminal Law, Personal Injury, Employment Law, Wrongful Death, Property Law, and Personal Property.[1]
Education
Montoya attended the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle from 1975 to 1977 and New Mexico Highlands University for his Bachelor of Science in 1981. To earn his J.D. he graduated from the University of New Mexico, School of Law in 1985.[1]
Career
Mr. Montoya worked as a Pro Se Law Clerk and Staff Attorney for the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico from 1990 to 1992. He was the Deputy District Attorney and Senior Trial Prosecutor for the Fourth Judicial District Attorney's Office in Las Vegas, New Mexico from 1989 to 1990. Montoya also worked as a Defense Attorney in the Felony Division in the New Mexico Public Defender Department in Albuquerque from 1988 to 1989. From 1985 to 1986 he worked as the Staff Attorney in the Pre-hearing Division of the New Mexico Court of Appeals and as a Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Albuquerque.[1]
Memberships
- State Bar of New Mexico
- American Bar Association
- National Hispanic Bar Association
- New Mexico Hispanic Bar Associations
- American Association for Justice
- New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association
- New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
- National Employment Lawyers Association[1]
Court of Appeals bid
Montoya ran for a seat on the New Mexico Court of Appeals in 2010. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by Linda Vanzi, who won 53.5 percent of the vote.[2][3]
- See also: New Mexico judicial elections, 2010
Misconduct complaint and suspension
Montoya was accused by the New Mexico Supreme Court’s disciplinary board of several counts of misconduct, including fraud, conflict of interest, failure to adequately represent a client, lying to the court, deceit and failure to properly keep accounts of client funds. The charges stem from a complaint filed in 2008 by Linda Vanzi, Montoya's opponent in the 2010 race for Position 2 on the New Mexico Court of Appeals.[4] Montoya responded via e-mail by saying "These charges will be vigorously defended against".[5]
On April 25, 2011, the New Mexico Supreme Court suspended Montoya's license to practice law for one year and imposed one year. The court amended the disciplinary decision on November 9 to increase the probation period the three years and ordered that if Montoya wanted to resume practicing law, he would have to reapply to have his license reinstated.[6]
External links
- KOB.com "Convicted felon helping raise money for judicial candidate," May 6, 2010
- State of Elections Blog, "New Mexico Supreme Court candidate disqualified," May 16, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mr. Dennis W. Montoya - Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com
- ↑ 2010 Federal and Statewide Candidates from the NM Secretary of State
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, Unofficial Statewide Results
- ↑ Specification of charges against Dennis Montoya
- ↑ Heath Haussamen:New Mexico Politics "Judicial candidate formally accused of misconduct," May 5, 2010
- ↑ Supreme Court of New Mexico, "IN RE: Dennis W. MONTOYA, An Attorney Suspended from the Practice of Law in the Courts of the State of New Mexico," accessed October 28, 2015
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
