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Johnny Valdez
Both of this year's Division One and Two Magistrate Judge seats are available for election. Division One Honorable Judge Larry Diaz has decided to leave the bench to run for Cibola County Sheriff, and his seat will be filled by current Sheriff Tony Mace, who is running unopposed. Division Two Honorable Judge Johnny Valdez (Democrat), on the other hand, has decided to keep it going and remain magistrate judge, seeing as though he is also running unopposed.
Judge Valdez has lived in Cibola County for more than half of his life. He was sheriff for Cibola County before he became magistrate judge, and he will be going off of his eighth year as Division Two Magistrate Judge at the end of 2022.
When talking about what made him to decide to run for magistrate judge after serving as sheriff eight years ago, Valdez explained, “I had a history of serving my community. And I just felt like I still had time to give to the people of this community, and so that’s the reason why I ran, to be able to serve the community some more,” shared Valdez.
Fast forward to the present, Valdez was asked what went into the decision of deciding to run again, seek re-election, and continue in his position as magistrate judge. “The way I see it, is it’s a tough role to start on. Getting to understand the laws and how everything applies in the court, and I think that one of the reasons why I’m staying is because I have that continuity and the experience, and I still enjoy working with the people.”
Valdez says that his previous experience as sheriff helped him transition into the role of judge and helped him in that role in the way that he already knew and understood the laws. “The only difference between being in law enforcement and being in the judicial system is that in law enforcement, you enforce the laws, and in the judiciary, you actually apply the laws every day.”
For those who may not know, Valdez explained the wide range of issues that come before the magistrate court, including all civil cases up to $10,000, misdemeanors, traffic violations and citations, arraignments or first appearances on all felony cases that come to the magistrate court, et cetera.
In order to run for the position of magistrate judge, an individual has to be at least 18 years of age, not have a record of criminal files charged against them, and to not have been recalled from a public office. Once someone is elected to the position of magistrate judge, they go through an orientation/training provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). Upon completion, they receive a certificate and are then considered bench-ready.
Valdez was asked to share what his favorite and least favorite parts of the job of magistrate judge are. For his favorite part, Valdez said, “Being able to help people is my favorite. Being able to work with people, because we’re in a community that… People are hurting for jobs. And if there’s any way that we can help those individuals, then that’s awesome.”
As for his least favorite part of the job, Valdez explained, “Civil cases are tough cases, simply because when it’s all said and done, either one or both parties will not be pleased with the outcome or the decision of the court. So you make the best possible decision that you can, based off the information that’s given to you during the trial.”
The guiding principles that Valdez says he has always strived to keep at the forefront while serving are being firm, fair, and consistent. Something that Valdez says he has learned in his previous terms that he thinks will help him in the next term is the experience he has gained in working with the court, with law enforcement, the district attorneys, and the public defender’s office. Valdez said learning who all of these people are, familiarizing himself with their roles, and seeing what they are looking for in the court has been beneficial.
Valdez also talked about the importance of upholding the law exactly the way it is written in the court. “You’ve got to apply the law the way it’s written. We can’t take a law and decide, ‘Well, I wanna use this but I don’t wanna use this.’ You have to apply the law the way it’s written and the way that it’s presented to the court by the officers that filed charges,” said Valdez.
Finally, Valdez talked about how the work of the magistrate court is important in a community and the most important role he thinks it plays. “Accountability… what [the court] does, is it gives people that have been charged with crimes the accountability, and in saying that, they will be held responsible for their actions through the court process… There’s a lot of education that the community [goes through] — a lot of people just don’t understand the process of the magistrate court. And being able to educate people is very important to me,” affirmed Valdez.
Valdez is excited to continue serving the community in this capacity, and he wanted to thank everyone in the community for their “continued support” for him in the position of Division Two Magistrate Judge. “I really enjoy being able to work with those that come in front of me,” said Valdez. The Division Two judge also shared that he hopes that all of the people that come into his court feel heard and respected.
“That’s one thing that is very important to me, is being able to show the people that they’re human, we all are human. And that bad things happen to good people, and we just continue to try to move forward and learn from our mistakes,” said Valdez, optimistic of the future and being able to continue in this position. Judge Valdez can be reached through the Magistrate Court at 505-285- 4605, and the Cibola County Magistrate Court is open Mondays through Fridays, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.