Three seek Court of Appeals Position 1 seat

Oct. 26—A former state prosecutor and district judge appointed last year to the Position 1 seat on the New Mexico Court of Appeals — the state's second highest and busiest court — faces two challengers to retain his seat in the Nov. 8 election: a family lawyer with decades of experience and a businesswoman turned public defender.

Judge Gerald Baca, 60, a Democrat appointed to the Appeals Court in 2021 by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, said his wide range of experience sets him apart from his opponents.

Baca served for about nine years as chief judge of the 4th Judicial District in San Miguel, Mora and Guadalupe counties before his appellate court appointment. His time as a judge has taught him to carefully examine a case and look at all possible outcomes before making a decision, he said.

"The cases are not black and white, and it's not as easy as you would think to take the facts, apply the law and reach a decision because of the many gray areas that are involved," Baca said.

This is why it sometimes takes the court a long time to make a decision on a case, he added.

"The Court of Appeals has to really take its time in thoroughly analyzing the facts and the law," Baca said.

Republican attorney Barbara Johnson, 71, said voters should choose her for the court's Position 1 seat because she has been "down in the trenches" and knows how to advocate for residents.

"It's a very different perspective than being a decision maker," Johnson said. "You have to think on your feet, for one."

Johnson, who ran unsuccessfully for the New Mexico Court of Appeals in 2020, is part of a team of judicial candidates — including Gertrude Lee, who is also running for Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court candidates Kerry Morris and Thomas Montoya — who promise to "put the law before politics."

Sophie Cooper, 71, a Libertarian, said her unique life experience and past work with criminal cases make her the ideal fit for the job.

"A good portion of the Court of Appeals caseload is criminal cases, and that's my forte," Cooper said.

Johnson said her work in family law has prepared her to oversee a wide range of cases, even those that don't fall into her line of practice.

"Family law is a very broad; it involves everything that touches people's lives," Johnson said. "It often involves criminal matters in the form of domestic violence or other ways, so it is not a limited practice at all. It is a very broad practice, and I think that because appeals come up from a trial court, then I've probably heard of it and dealt with it."

Before becoming a public defender more than 27 years ago, Cooper owned a Native American jewelry and supply store in Albuquerque and Gallup. She said this experience has helped her understand the struggles of running a business.

"I wound up loving New Mexico and the culture here. I really liked the family-oriented culture," Cooper said. "I'm very involved with Navajo culture here, and I know the people. I know small business, and I appreciate how hard it is."

When asked what could be changed to improve the Court of Appeals, Baca said he thinks the court should make more formal opinions that can be applied to the law.

"We issue a lot of memorandum opinions which are nonprecedential, so the lawyers and parties can't really cite them as precedence in an area of law," he said. "I think I'd like to see that we issue more formal opinions upon which the parties can rely on the future for guidance in what the law is."

Johnson said she wants the court to better serve residents by speeding up the appeals process and finding a way to address the court's backlog of cases.

"The appellate process is so very, very complicated, and it could be expedited," Johnson said. "... We can call retired judges into service; we can assign certain opinions to be written by district judges. If we need help getting our backlog done, then we need to get it, and we need to serve our citizens better."

Cooper also said she thinks the appeals process should be quickened, and pointed to its ability to grant extensions as a possible culprit for delays.

"In order to protect the rights of the defendant, the Court of Appeals has to be generous in granting extensions, but on the other hand, I think extensions and delays and deciding appeals are bad for everyone," Cooper said.

"It's bad for the defendant, because sometimes the person is actually still in prison awaiting the outcome of the appeal," she added. "It's bad for society because if it were overturned and the case goes back for trial, after several years witnesses remember less, and some can no longer be found."