Martha Vázquez

Martha Vázquez
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico
Incumbent
Assumed office December 31, 2021
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico
In office 2003–2010
Preceded by	James Aubrey Parker
Succeeded by	Bruce D. Black
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico
In office October 1, 1993 – December 31, 2021
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Santiago E. Campos
Succeeded by	David H. Urias
Personal details
Born	(1953-02-21) February 21, 1953 (age 71)[1] Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Education	University of Notre Dame (BA, JD)

Martha Alicia Vázquez (born February 21, 1953) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. She is the first woman to be appointed as a federal judge in that state.^{[citation needed]}

Education and career

Born in Santa Barbara, California, Vázquez is an alumna of the University of Notre Dame, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1975, followed by a Juris Doctor from the Notre Dame Law School in 1978. Following a brief stint with Michigan Migrant Legal Services, she was a public defender in New Mexico from 1979 to 1981, and then entered private practice, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from 1981 until her appointment to the federal bench in 1993.^[2]

Federal judicial service

On August 6, 1993, Vázquez was nominated by President Bill Clinton for the judge seat on the District Court vacated by Santiago E. Campos. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 30, 1993, and received her commission on October 1, 1993. She was sworn in on October 6, 1993.^[3] She served as chief judge of the court from 2003 to 2010.^[2] She assumed senior status on December 31, 2021.^[2]

See also

• List of Hispanic and Latino American jurists
• List of first women lawyers and judges in New Mexico

References

1. The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, Volume 4.
2. Martha Vázquez at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
3. The Third Branch. Federal Judicial Center. 1993.

External links

• Martha Vázquez at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Chambers page of Martha Vázquez.

Legal offices
Preceded by Santiago E. Campos	Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico 1993–2021	Succeeded by David H. Urias
Preceded by James Aubrey Parker	Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico 2003–2010	Succeeded by Bruce D. Black