Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
New Mexico Supreme Court justice vacancy (June 2021)
| New Mexico Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Vigil vacancy |
| Date: June 30, 2021 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Briana Zamora |
| Date: July 16, 2021 |
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) appointed Briana Zamora to the New Mexico Supreme Court on July 16, 2021.[1] Zamora succeeded Justice Barbara J. Vigil, who retired on June 30, 2021.[2] 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.[3][2]
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.
- 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 2021.
The appointee
- See also: Briana H. Zamora
Zamora began serving as a judge in 2009. Zamora served on the New Mexico Court of Appeals from 2018 until her appointment to the state supreme court. She served as a district court judge from 2013 to 2018 and as a metro court judge from 2009 to 2013. Prior to becoming a judge, Zamora worked as an attorney in private practice, as an assistant state attorney general, and as an assistant district attorney.[1]
Zamora earned an undergraduate degree in government and psychology from New Mexico State University and a J.D., with honors, from the University of New Mexico School of Law.[1]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Finalists
On June 17, the New Mexico Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission recommended the following three finalists to Gov. Lujan Grisham:[4]
- Judge Jennifer DeLaney
- Judge T. Glenn Ellington
- Judge Briana Zamora
Applicants
The New Mexico Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission considered the following seven applicants to fill the vacancy:[5]
- Frank V. Crociata
- Judge Jennifer DeLaney
- Judge T. Glenn Ellington
- Scott Thomas Fuqua
- Judge Victor Lopez
- Mekko M. Miller
- Judge Briana Zamora
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in New Mexico
At the time of the vacancy, New Mexico Supreme Court justices were chosen by assisted gubernatorial appointment in the event of a midterm vacancy. 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 his or her 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 must receive 57 percent of the vote to retain their seat.[3]
Judicial nominating commission
At the time of the vacancy, there were 15 separate judicial nominating commissions that screen applicants for the appellate, district, and metropolitan courts in New Mexico. 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 would consist 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.
Makeup of the court
- See also: New Mexico Supreme Court
Justices
Following Vigil's retirement, the New Mexico Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Julie Vargas | Appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) in 2020 | |
| ■ Michael E. Vigil | Elected in 2018 | |
| ■ David Thomson | Appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) in 2019 | |
| ■ Shannon Bacon | Appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) 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.[6] The court's year-long term begins in January.[7]
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 Vigil
- See also: Barbara J. Vigil
Justice Vigil joined the New Mexico Supreme Court on December 7, 2012. She was elected to the court in the November 2012 general election. She served as the court's chief justice from 2014 to 2016 after being unanimously elected to the position by her fellow justices.[8]
Prior to her election to the supreme court, Vigil served from 2000 to 2012 as a district judge and chief judge on the New Mexico First Judicial District Court. She practiced law in Santa Fe before becoming a judge.[8]
Vigil earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from New Mexico State University and a J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law.[8]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2021
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2021
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2021. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2020.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Office of the Governor - Michelle Lujan Grisham, "Governor fills Supreme Court vacancy," July 16, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 KRQE, "High court justice, who authored end to execution, to retire," April 28, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: New Mexico," accessed June 17, 2021 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "general" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ University of New Mexico School of Law, "Judicial Vacancies - New Mexico Supreme Court Candidate Announcement," archived June 18, 2021
- ↑ University of New Mexico School of Law, "Judicial Vacancies - New Mexico Supreme Court Announcement of Applicants," archived June 18, 2021
- ↑ 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)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 New Mexico Court, Supreme Court, "Senior Justice Barbara J. Vigil," archived June 17, 2021
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
| |||||||
