I'm having fun. Lets look at another District Court: New Mexico. I pop the facts into a single post.
The Lay Of The Land
New Mexico is part of the 10th Circuit which serves the states of: Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. All of the states are single Districts except for Oklahoma which is subdivided into 3 Districts: Western, Eastern and Northern. New Mexico is a state that has transitioned from Republican to Democratic over the past 40 years. The Federal Courts are slowing following this pattern. This post will illustrate how.
Presently, the District is served by a full compliment of 7 Active Judges and 3 Senior status part-time Judges. Unlike Eastern Texas, New Mexico has Court seats of the 10th Circuit with 2 Active Judges and one in Senior status. The map indicates the primacy of the Federal Courthouse in Albuquerque with chambers for 7 Justices. Usually, District and Appellate Judges share Courthouses. It's a little odd that the Courthouse in Roswell supports only Appellate Judges.
At 86, Senior Judge Bobby Ray Baldock appointed by President Reagan is the longest serving Justice in the state. An Appellate Judge, Baldock is like all of the other Appeals Court Justices seating in New Mexico--a Republican appointee.
At the District level, the present Chief Justice is also a Republican appointee, confirmed in 2001 after being nominated by President George W. Bush. Judge William Paul Johnson will serve in this role until 2025, when it will transfer to Obama appointee Kenneth John Gonzalez. Justice Gonzalez will be succeeded by Justice Matthew L. Garcia, appointed by President Biden.
The Historical Perspective
Again, I took the history of the seats back to the advent of the Reagan Administration, the first in what is becoming a line of Judicial Activists Presidencies. At the time there were only four seats in New Mexico. One seat was filled by President Johnson, one by President Nixon and two by President Carter. President Reagan got the opportunity to appoint three judges, after his first appointee was elevated to the 10th Circuit Appellate Court. Clinton holds the distinction of appointing the first woman, Justice Martha Vasquez in 1993.
Partisan parity was lost in 1992, what a new seat was allotted during President George H. W. Bush's administration. With two additional seats added during his son, President Bush-the-Younger's administration, the Republican advantage on the Federal judiciary was locked in at 5 to 2 beginning in 2003 and lasting until 2021. All during this time, local and state political fortunes favored the Democratic Party. Within the following 3 years, President Biden has appointed 3 Judges to the Federal District Court of New Mexico, flipping majority to the Democratic Party in 2023.
Meet The Judges
At 86, Senior Judge Bobby Ray Baldock appointed by President Reagan is the longest serving Justice in the state. An Appellate Judge, Baldock is like all of the other Appeals Court Justices seating in New Mexico--a Republican appointee.
At the District level, the present Chief Justice is also a Republican appointee, confirmed in 2001 after being nominated by President George W. Bush. Judge William Paul Johnson will serve in this role until 2025, when it will transfer to Obama appointee Kenneth John Gonzalez. Justice Gonzalez will be succeeded by Justice Matthew L. Garcia, appointed by President Biden.
The Historical Perspective
Again, I took the history of the seats back to the advent of the Reagan Administration, the first in what is becoming a line of Judicial Activists Presidencies. At the time there were only four seats in New Mexico. One seat was filled by President Johnson, one by President Nixon and two by President Carter. President Reagan got the opportunity to appoint three judges, after his first appointee was elevated to the 10th Circuit Appellate Court. Clinton holds the distinction of appointing the first woman, Justice Martha Vasquez in 1993.
Partisan parity was lost in 1992, what a new seat was allotted during President George H. W. Bush's administration. With two additional seats added during his son, President Bush-the-Younger's administration, the Republican advantage on the Federal judiciary was locked in at 5 to 2 beginning in 2003 and lasting until 2021. All during this time, local and state political fortunes favored the Democratic Party. Within the following 3 years, President Biden has appointed 3 Judges to the Federal District Court of New Mexico, flipping majority to the Democratic Party in 2023.
Meet The Judges
I think I will look the midwest for the next installment...maybe, Ohio.
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