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New Mexico Supreme Court justice vacancy (December 2020)
| New Mexico Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Nakamura vacancy |
| Date: December 1, 2020 (Postponed from August 1) |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Julie Vargas |
| Date: December 19, 2020 |
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) appointed Julie Vargas to the New Mexico Supreme Court on December 19, 2020.[1] Vargas succeeded Justice Judith Nakamura, who retired retired on December 1, 2020. Vargas was Gov. Lujan Grisham's third nominee to the five-member supreme court.
Nakamura planned to retire on August 1, but she postponed the retirement date in June.[2][3][4] Nakamura joined the state supreme court in 2015. She served as chief justice from 2017 to 2020.
At the time of the appointment, 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.
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the New Mexico Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- A list of finalists recommended to the governor.
- A list of candidates who applied to the vacancy.
- An overview of the selection process.
- Noteworthy events that occurred during the nomination process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2020.
The appointee
- See also: Julie Vargas
Before her appointment to the New Mexico Supreme Court, Vargas was a judge on the New Mexico Court of Appeals. She was elected to this position on November 8, 2016. Before that, she worked as a litigator in private practice for 23 years.[5]
Vargas earned her bachelor's degree in history and English literature from Brown University in 1990. She received her J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she served as an editor for the New Mexico Law Review, in 1993.[5]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Finalists
The New Mexico Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission recommended four applicants to the governor.[6]
- New Mexico Court of Appeals Judge Julie Vargas
- New Mexico Court of Appeals Judge Briana Zamora
- New Mexico Sixth Judicial District Court Judge Jennifer Ellen DeLaney
- Retired New Mexico Twelfth Judicial District Court Judge James Waylon Counts
Applicants
The New Mexico Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission received seven applications.[7]
- Retired New Mexico Twelfth Judicial District Court Judge James Waylon Counts
- New Mexico Sixth Judicial District Court Judge Jennifer Ellen DeLaney
- Frank Victor Crociata
- New Mexico Second Judicial District Court Judge Victor Lopez (New Mexico)
- Steven S. Michel
- New Mexico Court of Appeals Judge Julie Vargas
- New Mexico Court of Appeals Judge Briana Zamora
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in New Mexico
In the event of a midterm vacancy, New Mexico Supreme Court justices were chosen by assisted gubernatorial appointment. The governor selected a nominee based on recommendations from the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.
A new appointee had to stand in the next partisan election after their appointment. Nakamura's successor needed to run for election in 2022 to remain on the bench.
Subsequent terms were acquired in uncontested retention elections wherein sitting justices had to receive 57 percent of the vote to retain their seat.[8]
Judicial nominating commission
In New Mexico, there were 15 separate judicial nominating commissions that screened applicants for the appellate, district, and metropolitan courts. The commissions were created by Article IV, Sections 35, 36, and 37, of the New Mexico Constitution.
Section 35 details the makeup of the appellate judges nominating commission. It provides that the commission shall achieve partisan political parity. Under Section 35, the New Mexico Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission consists of:
- the chief justice of the supreme court or a designee appointed by the chief justice.
- two New Mexico Court of Appeals judges appointed by the court of appeals chief judge.
- three attorneys, one each nominated by the governor, the speaker of the state House, and the state Senate president pro tempore.
- three non-attorneys, one each nominated by the governor, the speaker of the state House, and the state Senate president pro tempore.
- the dean of the University of New Mexico School of Law. The dean serves as the commission chair and only casts tie-breaking votes.
- four attorneys appointed by the president of the New Mexico Bar and the commission judges.
Click here to see a list of current nominating commission members as of September 16, 2020.
Noteworthy events
Nakamura postpones retirement
Nakamura first announced she would retire on August 1, 2020. In June, the Administrative Office of the Courts said Nakamura would remain in office until later in the year. Nakamura said she was postponing her retirement because of work related to the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA). "New information I received from PERA yesterday requires that my retirement be postponed," she said.[3]
Makeup of the court
- See also: New Mexico Supreme Court
Justices
Following Nakamura's retirement, the New Mexico Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Barbara J. Vigil | Elected in 2012 | |
| ■ Michael Vigil | Elected in 2018 | |
| ■ Shannon Bacon | Appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) in 2019 | |
| ■ David Thomson | Appointed by Gov. Lujan Grisham in 2019 |
About the court
Founded in 1912, the New Mexico Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has five judgeships. The current chief of the court is David Thomson.
As of September 2021, one judge was elected in a partisan election as a Democrat, and four judges were appointed by a Democratic governor.
The New Mexico Supreme Court meets in the Supreme Court Building in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[9] The court's year-long term begins in January.[10]
In New Mexico, state supreme court justices are elected in partisan elections. There are eight states that use this selection method. To read more about the partisan election of judges, click here.
About Justice Nakamura
- See also: Judith Nakamura
Justice Nakamura was appointed to the New Mexico Supreme Court on November 12, 2015, by Governor Susana Martinez (R). Nakamura succeeded Justice Richard Bosson.[11] Nakamura was elected on November 8, 2016, to complete Bosson's unexpired term.
Nakamura served as chief justice from 2017 to 2020.
Before joining the state supreme court, Nakamura was a judge on the New Mexico Second Judicial District Court. She was appointed to that court by Gov. Martinez on January 10, 2013.[12] Nakamura was elected to that court in 2014. Before that, Nakamura was the chief judge of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. She also worked in private practice and for the State Land Office.[13]
Nakamura received her undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico and her J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law.[14]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2020
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2020
The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2020. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2021.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "Gov. Lujan Grisham fills Supreme Court vacancy," December 19, 2020
- ↑ New Mexico Political Report, "Chief Justice Nakamura to retire in August," June 9, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Santa Fe New Mexican, "New Mexico Supreme Court's chief justice postpones retirement," June 26, 2020
- ↑ The University of New Mexico School of Law, "Judicial Vacancies," accessed September 25, 2020
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 New Mexico Court of Appeals, "Judges," accessed December 23, 2020
- ↑ The Durango Herald, "Panel recommends four for appointment to New Mexico high court," November 21, 2020
- ↑ The University of New Mexico School of Law, "New Mexico Supreme Court Announcement of Applicants," October 14, 2020
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: New Mexico," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ New Mexico Courts, "Supreme Court Building Information," accessed September 2, 2021
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Constitution," accessed September 2, 2021 (Article VI Section 7)
- ↑ Matthew Reichbach, NM Political Report, "Martinez names Nakamura to fill Supreme Court vacancy," November 12, 2015
- ↑ KRWG, "Governor appoints 2 district court judges," January 11, 2013
- ↑ KOB.com, "Gov. makes appointments to 2nd Judicial District Court bench," January 10, 2013
- ↑ Martindale.com, "Judith Nakamaura"
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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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