Judge Robles applies for Supreme Court vacancy

Robert E. Robles, who has been chief judge of the Third Judicial District Court in Doña Ana County for eight years, wants to be the first person from the southern part of the state to be appointed to the New Mexico Supreme Court since 1975.

Robles, 57, has applied for the vacancy created last month by the death of Justice Pamela B. Minzner.

“Representing the State of New Mexico as a justice on the Supreme Court would be the culmination of a lifelong dream,” Robles wrote in his application.

The deadline to apply for the appointment is 5 p.m. today. A judicial selection committee will meet in Santa Fe on Sept. 24 to consider applications and will recommend candidates to the governor. The governor must make an appointment from among the candidates recommended, but he can ask the committee to meet one additional time to consider applicants if he doesn’t like the group’s original recommendations.

Robles has 32 years of legal experience, including 16 as a district judge. He currently serves in the court’s civil division, but has also handled some high-profile criminal cases in recent months. Robles was appointed by former President Clinton to the U.S. Commission on Child and Family Welfare, and served from 1994-1996 as the group’s vice-chair.

“While his judicial rulings have not always favored my clients, they have always been the result of thoughtful consideration and solidly supported by the law,” Las Cruces attorney T.A. Sandenaw wrote in a recommendation letter to the judicial selection committee. “From a selfish perspective, I would like to see him remain a district court judge; however, given his qualifications, I urge the committees’ affirmative action on this application for the benefit of the overall bar.”

Las Cruces attorney Michael Lilley wrote in his recommendation letter that, as an attorney, Robles was “always prepared, and had command of even the most complicated legal issues.” As a judge, Lilley wrote, Robles’ “knowledge of the law, civil and criminal, is unparalleled among district judges.”

Doña Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez said in an interview that attorneys in her office “think highly of Judge Robles’ ability to be fair in the courtroom and his insistence that all parties appearing before him know the law and present it in a fair way.”

“Though his example of professionalism and his knowledge, everyone who appears before him knows that is also expected of them,” Martinez said. “Every trial that I’ve had before him has been a pleasure to try.”

A distinguished career

Robles, who was born in Albuquerque, earned his law degree from the University of New Mexico in 1975. He spent most of the first 16 years of his career in private practice and had brief stints as a contract public defender and an assistant attorney general.

As a lawyer and later as a judge, Robles has tried and presided over more than 70 jury trials. He also estimates that he has presided over 400 non-jury trials since being appointed to the district court in 1991. Robles served as a member of the joint Supreme Court/State Bar Commission on Professionalism from 2001-2002 and as a member of the high court’s Code of Judicial Conduct Committee from 1993-2004.

In his last retention election in 2004, Robles received 81 percent of the vote.

Robles wrote in his application that he “developed an interest in the law out of a desire to help those who were less fortunate. That seed sprouted into a love of the rule of law and a desire to see an even playing field with fairness for all.”

On two recent criminal cases, prosecutors and defense attorneys, who have a contentious relationship in Doña Ana County, selected Robles as the judge because he was the one they could agree would be fair.

In one of those cases, Robles made the difficult decision to sentence Carissa McGee, a juvenile who was convicted in a brutal attack on her sister and mother, as an adult. The case was complex, and defense attorneys fought for juvenile sentencing. Because McGee was a star basketball player at Mayfield High School at the time of the attack, Robles had to face the further pressure of a great deal of media scrutiny.

State Rep. Joseph Cervantes, in his recommendation letter, wrote that Robles “not only possesses the exemplary legal skills and insight of an experienced trial judge, but also the leadership skills that have consistently earned him the trust and confidence of his colleagues on the bench, and also the respect of attorneys and parties appearing before him.”

Southern New Mexico representation

Robles said no governor has appointed someone from south of Albuquerque to the court since former Justice Dan Sosa of Las Cruces was appointed in 1975. He said the court’s decisions “affect everyone in the state from the east to west and north to south.”

“It’s been 32 years, and I just think it’s time to ensure the court is geographically diverse,” Robles said.

Albuquerque attorney Arthur Melendres agreed in his letter recommending Robles for the position.

“Judge Robles, being from Doña Ana County, would bring a helpful perspective to our court,” he wrote. “There has not been a member of the court from that area for quite some time.”

Cervantes agreed.

“His appointment would reflect a commitment to the entire state, a promise of opportunity for all attorneys, and would represent an acknowledgement of the important work done by judges throughout New Mexico,” Cervantes wrote.

Update, 5:45 p.m.

Here is the full list of applicants the commission will consider at its meeting on Sept. 24:

Judge James W. Counts, Peter V. Culbert, Thomas L. Dunigan, Charles W. Daniels, Amme M. Hogan, Arturo L. Jaramillo, Robert P. McNeill, Edward R. Ricco, Judge Robert E. Robles, Alfonso G. Sanchez, Judge Sam B. Sanchez, Maureen A. Sanders, Judge Linda M. Vanzi, Judge Michael E. Vigil, Norman F. Weiss