The Metropolitan Court system was established in 1980, all judges are elected by eligible voters in Bernalillo County. Judges hold 4 year terms, in 19 divisions. There are no term limits in the court system and elections are partisan.[1]
Requirements
To be eligible for an office of the Metropolitan Court, a candidate must be a member of the New Mexico Bar and have practiced law in New Mexico for approximately three years.
Judges
Division
Name
Party
Took office
1
Victor E. Valdez
Democrat
2004
2
Christine Rodriguez
Democrat
2017
3
Renee Torres
Democrat
2017
4
Courtney Weaks
Democrat
2015
5
Frank A. Sedillo
Democrat
2008
6
Maria I. Dominguez
Democrat
2008
7
Rosemary Cosgrove-Aguilar
Democrat
2014
8
Jill Martinez
Democrat
2015
9
Yvette K. Gonzales
Democrat
2010
10
Brittany Maldonado Malott
Democrat
2019
11
Sandra Engle
Democrat
2006
12
Jason Jaramillo
Democrat
2019
13
Michelle Castillo–Dowler
Republican
2013
14
Vidalia G. Chavez
Democrat
2014
15
Felicia Blea-Rivera
Democrat
2019
16
David A. Murphy
Democrat
2019
17
Henry A. Alaniz
Republican
2011
18
Rosie Lazcano–Allred
Democrat
2005
19
Linda S. Rogers
Democrat
2006
Metropolitan Detention Center
Persons being held for trial at the Metropolitan Court, or convicted of misdemeanors and serving sentences under 12 months, are incarcerated in the county jail facility, the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), about 10 miles west of Albuquerque, on a rural mesa. The 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m2) campus employs around 500 staff, and houses over 2,000 inmates. Construction was completed in 2002, to replace the overcrowded, in-town county jail near the courthouse. It is the county’s largest public facility, and single greatest consumer of electricity, using, for example, 12,627,000 kilowatts in 2012, at a cost of $981,563. Use of solar power at the facility has increased, and as of January 2014, 20% of its power was provided by a 1-megawatt system of photovoltaic panels.[2]
