Chief Justice David K Thomson

Chief Justice David K. Thomson took the oath of office on February 4, 2019, following his selection by the nonpartisan Judicial Nominating Commission and his appointment by the Governor to the New Mexico Supreme Court. He was sworn in as Chief Justice on April 17, 2024, where he will serve a two-year term. Prior to his appointment, Chief Justice Thomson served as a State Trial Judge in the First Judicial District, overseeing a civil docket in excess of 1000 cases. He is a leader in judicial education and efforts to increase diversity in judicial clerkships and advance technology in the courts. In 2019, he founded a diversity clerkship program with the New Mexico State Bar Association, which has resulted in increased post-graduation clerkship opportunities within New Mexico’s Appellate Courts. He has also successfully launched an annual “Rule of Law Program” where schools and students in New Mexico are given the opportunity to view oral arguments, ask questions about a case, and gain an understanding of the judiciary’s role in state government.

Chief Justice Thomson was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and is a graduate of Santa Fe High School. He has an undergraduate degree in Economics and Government from Wesleyan University,
Middletown, Connecticut. Before law school, he worked for U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman. He received his juris doctorate from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 1998. Following law school, Chief
Justice Thomson began his career as a term law clerk for U.S. District Justice Bruce D. Black, District of New Mexico. After his clerkship, he joined the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office as a litigation
attorney, eventually serving as Deputy Attorney General. In this role, he advocated on behalf of the citizens of New Mexico before State and Federal courts. Prior to taking the bench in 2015, Justice Thomson
was a sole practitioner, admitted to appear in State and Federal courts, including the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Thomson heads the (CEI) judicial education program in New Mexico. He teaches legal education courses on a number of topics, including trial practice, the use of special masters, judicial ethics, evidence, and appellate practice. Chief Justice Thomson serves on the Executive Committee of the American Bar Association Judicial Division Appellate Judges Conference and Appellate Judges Education
Institute. He is also an AJC Delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates. Justice Thomson authored the article Constitutional Long Haulers: The Undiagnosed Long-Term Impact of Judicial Review on Emergency Public Health Orders, which appeared in the American Bar Association Judge’s Journal. He has recently presented on the role of Amicus Curiae in matters before the federal and state appellate courts. This past year, his peers nominated him join the American Law Institute.

Justice Michael E. Vigil

Justice Michael E. Vigil was elected to the New Mexico Supreme Court in the November 6, 2018 general election, and was sworn into office on December 31, 2018, by his former colleague on the New Mexico Court of Appeals, Judge Roderick T. Kennedy (retired). He was selected by his fellow Justices to serve as Chief Justice beginning on July 15, 2020.

Prior to his election to the high Court in 2018, Justice Vigil served as a Judge on the New Mexico Court of Appeals for fifteen years, after practicing law for over 27 years. He was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2003 by Governor Bill Richardson, and was sworn into office on the stage in Sweeney Gymnasium, the same stage where he received his high school diploma. Justice Vigil was elected to a full eight-year term in 2004, and the citizens of New Mexico voted to retain him for another eight-year term in the 2012 election. Justice Vigil’s colleagues on the Court of Appeals unanimously elected him to serve as the Court’s Chief Judge for a two-year term, from 2015 to 2017, and as a judge on the Court of Appeals, Justice Vigil sat on over 3,000 appeals and wrote over 1,000 opinions.

Justice Vigil has served on the New Mexico Sentencing Commission, the New Mexico Chief Judges Council, the New Mexico Courts Budget Committee, and the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeals. Justice Vigil received the Native Hispanic Hero Award from the New Mexico House of Representatives in 2012, and has been an elected member of the American Law Institute since 2009. His greatest joy as a judge has been participating in Constitution Day for 5th graders and sitting on appeals in real cases before high school students throughout New Mexico.

Justice C. Shannon Bacon

Justice Bacon was appointed to the New Mexico Supreme Court on January 25, 2019, after being recommended by a nonpartisan Judicial Nominating Commission. She took the oath of office on February 4, 2019. Prior to her appointment, Justice Bacon served as a district court judge on the Second Judicial District Court and as the Presiding Civil Judge. While serving on the district court, Justice Bacon presided over thousands of cases spanning complex civil litigation, class actions, adult guardianship and conservatorship cases, real estate and contract disputes, election issues, domestic and children’s court cases and appeals. Justice Bacon was also the Bernalillo County Water and Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Judge.

Prior to joining the Supreme Court Justice Bacon served on numerous commissions and committees. She served on the New Mexico Supreme Court Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship Steering Committee (Chair) and Rules Committee, the Access to Justice Commission, the Bernalillo County Pro Bono Committee (Co-chair), the Supreme Court Personnel Rules Committee (Chair), the Supreme Court Rules of Evidence Committee (Chair) and the District and Metropolitan Judges Association (President). Justice Bacon has also served on non-profit boards that address the needs of youth experiencing homelessness for more than a decade.

Prior to taking the bench, Justice Bacon was a partner at Sutin, Thayer and Brown, P.A. and Eaves, Bardacke, Baugh, Kierst and Larson, P.A. where her practice focused on complex litigation and appeals. She began her legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable A. Joseph Alarid at the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

Justice Bacon earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History and her law degree at Creighton University. Upon completion of her education, Justice Bacon returned to Albuquerque, New Mexico where she was raised, to begin her professional career.

Justice Briana H. Zamora

Justice Briana H. Zamora was appointed to the New Mexico Supreme Court in July 2021. She began her judicial career when she was appointed to the Metropolitan Court bench in December 2008. She was then elected to the Bernalillo County District Court in 2012. As a trial court judge, she spent a decade presiding almost exclusively over adult criminal cases. In addition to her day-to-day docket, she presided in various specialty courts, including, Homeless Court, Courts to School, Urban Native American Healing to Wellness Court and the medically assisted treatment track of drug court. Justice Zamora was also elected to the Court of Appeals where she authored opinions in all areas of the law.

Justice Zamora was born and raised in New Mexico. She is a graduate of New Mexico State University and received her law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law.