CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – Cibola County voters will have judicial retention questions to consider on the Nov. 3 General Election ballot, and the state commission responsible for evaluating judges has released its recommendations.
The New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission announced Sept. 18 that it recommends retaining all three-13th Judicial District Court judges evaluated this year: Christopher G. Perez, James L. Sanchez and Amanda Sanchez Villalobos.
The 13th Judicial District serves Cibola, Sandoval and Valencia counties.
Unlike a traditional candidate race, a judicial retention election asks voters whether a sitting judge should remain in office. Voters select “yes” or “no,” and under New Mexico law a judge must receive at least 57% approval to remain on the bench, according to JPEC.
JPEC said its evaluations consider four primary areas: legal ability, fairness, communication skills, and preparation, attentiveness, temperament and control over court proceedings.
The commission also reviews court statistics, including caseloads, how often judges are excused from cases and how long cases take to resolve. Surveys may include responses from attorneys, other judges, court employees, law enforcement officers, probation and parole officers, interpreters, jurors and others who interact with the courts.
According to judicial term information provided by JPEC, Sanchez serves Division 1 of the 13th Judicial District and was retained in 2020. Sanchez Villalobos serves Division 4 and was retained in 2020. Perez serves Division 7 and was also retained in 2020. Their current terms expire Dec. 31, 2026.
Statewide, JPEC recommended retaining 41 of the 43 judges appearing in retention elections this year. The commission said it did not make recommendations regarding two judges who had not served long enough to be fully evaluated.
JPEC evaluations and voter information are available in English and Spanish at NMJPEC.org or by calling 1-800-687-3417.
Judicial retention questions typically appear toward the end of the ballot, so voters should review the entire ballot before submitting it.