# United States District Court for the District of New Mexico

The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico (in case citations, D.N.M.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of New Mexico. Court is held in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe.
Appeals from the District of New Mexico are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The acting United States attorney is Holland S. Kastrin since 2025.

## Current judges

As of January 13, 2025:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Term of service | Term of service | Appointed by |
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Active | Chief | Senior | Appointed by |
| 22 | Chief Judge | Kenneth J. Gonzales | Las Cruces | 1964 | 2013–present | 2025–present | — | Obama |
| 20 | District Judge | James O. Browning | Albuquerque | 1956 | 2003–present | — | — | G.W. Bush |
| 23 | District Judge | Kea W. Riggs | Albuquerque | 1965 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
| 24 | District Judge | Margaret Strickland | Las Cruces | 1980 | 2021–present | — | — | Biden |
| 25 | District Judge | David H. Urias | Albuquerque | 1967 | 2022–present | — | — | Biden |
| 26 | District Judge | Matthew L. Garcia | Albuquerque | 1974 | 2023–present | — | — | Biden |
| 27 | District Judge | Sarah M. Davenport | Las Cruces | 1976 | 2025–present | — | — | Biden |
| 15 | Senior Judge | Martha Vázquez | Santa Fe | 1953 | 1993–2021 | 2003–2010 | 2021–present | Clinton |
| 17 | Senior Judge | Christina Armijo | inactive | 1951 | 2001–2018 | 2012–2018 | 2018–present | G.W. Bush |
| 18 | Senior Judge | William P. Johnson | Albuquerque | 1959 | 2001–2025 | 2018–2025 | 2025–present | G.W. Bush |
| 19 | Senior Judge | Robert C. Brack | Las Cruces | 1953 | 2003–2018 | — | 2018–present | G.W. Bush |
| 21 | Senior Judge | Judith C. Herrera | Albuquerque | 1954 | 2004–2019 | — | 2019–present | G.W. Bush |

## Vacancies and pending nominations

| Seat | Prior judge's duty station | Seat last held by | Vacancy reason | Date of vacancy | Nominee | Date of nomination |
| 6 | Albuquerque | James O. Browning | Senior status | February 1, 2026 | – | – |

## Former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | William Hayes Pope | NM | 1870–1916 | 1912–1916 | — | — | Taft | death |
| 2 | Colin Neblett | NM | 1875–1950 | 1917–1948 | — | 1948–1950 | Wilson | death |
| 3 | Orie Leon Phillips | NM | 1885–1974 | 1923–1929 | — | — | Harding | elevation to 10th Cir. |
| 4 | Carl Hatch | NM | 1889–1963 | 1949–1963 | 1954–1963 | 1963 | Truman | death |
| 5 | Waldo Henry Rogers | NM | 1908–1964 | 1954–1964 | 1963–1964 | — | Eisenhower | death |
| 6 | Harry Vearle Payne | NM | 1908–1983 | 1963–1978 | 1964–1978 | 1978–1983 | Kennedy | death |
| 7 | Howard C. Bratton | NM | 1922–2002 | 1964–1987 | 1978–1987 | 1987–2002 | L. Johnson | death |
| 8 | Edwin L. Mechem | NM | 1912–2002 | 1970–1982 | — | 1982–2002 | Nixon | death |
| 9 | Santiago E. Campos | NM | 1926–2001 | 1978–1992 | 1987–1989 | 1992–2001 | Carter | death |
| 10 | Juan Guerrero Burciaga | NM | 1929–1995 | 1979–1994 | 1989–1994 | 1994–1995 | Carter | death |
| 11 | Bobby Baldock | NM | 1936–present | 1983–1986 | — | — | Reagan | elevation to 10th Cir. |
| 12 | John Edwards Conway | NM | 1934–2014 | 1986–2000 | 1994–2000 | 2000–2014 | Reagan | death |
| 13 | James Aubrey Parker | NM | 1937–2022 | 1987–2003 | 2000–2003 | 2003–2022 | Reagan | death |
| 14 | Curtis LeRoy Hansen | NM | 1933–2023 | 1992–2003 | — | 2003–2023 | G.H.W. Bush | death |
| 16 | Bruce D. Black | NM | 1947–present | 1995–2012 | 2010–2012 | 2012–2017 | Clinton | retirement |

## Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.
A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.
When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

## Succession of seats

Seat 1 :
| Seat established on January 6, 1912 by 36 Stat. 557 ||||
| Pope | 1912–1916 |
| Neblett | 1917–1948 |
| Hatch | 1949–1963 |
| Payne | 1963–1978 |
| Campos | 1978–1992 |
| Vázquez | 1993–2021 |
| Urias | 2022–present |
Seat 2 :
| Seat established on September 14, 1922 by 42 Stat. 837 (temporary) ||
| Phillips | 1923–1929 |
| Seat abolished on April 29, 1929 (temporary judgeship expired) ||
Seat 3 :
| Seat established on February 10, 1954 by 68 Stat. 8 (temporary) ||||
| Seat made permanent on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 ||||
| Rogers | 1954–1964 |
| Bratton | 1964–1987 |
| Parker | 1987–2003 |
| Herrera | 2004–2019 |
| Garcia | 2023–present |
Seat 4 :
| Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 ||||
| Mechem | 1970–1982 |
| Baldock | 1982–1985 |
| Conway | 1986–2000 |
| Johnson | 2001–2025 |
| Davenport | 2025–present |
Seat 5 :
| Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 ||||
| Burciaga | 1979–1994 |
| Black | 1995–2012 |
| Gonzales | 2013–present |
Seat 6 :
| Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 ||||
| Hansen | 1992–2003 |
| Browning | 2003–present |
Seat 7 :
| Seat established on December 21, 2000 by 114 Stat. 2762 ||||
| Armijo | 2001–2018 |
| Riggs | 2019–present |
Seat 8 :
| Seat established on November 2, 2002 by 116 Stat. 1758 (temporary) ||||
| Brack | 2003–2018 |
| Seat made permanent on December 23, 2024 by 138 Stat. 2693 ||||
| Strickland | 2021–present |

## List of U.S. attorneys

* Summers Burkhart (1913–1921)
* Norman Bay (2000–2001)
* David Iglesias (2001–2006)
* Larry Gomez (2006–2008)
* Gregory J. Fouratt (2008–2010)
* Kenneth J. Gonzales (2010–2013)
* Damon Martinez (2014–2017)
* John C. Anderson (2018–2021)
* Fred Joseph Federici III (acting) (2021–2022)
* Alexander M.M. Uballez (2022–2025)
* Holland S. Kastrin (acting) 2025-