Patricio Serna
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Patricio M. Serna is a justice on the New Mexico Supreme Court. He won a seat on the court on November 6, 1996 in a partisan election running as a Democrat; he was sworn in on December 6, 1996. He won a retention election in November of 2000. From 2001 to 2002 he served as New Mexico's Chief Justice. In November of 2008, he won another retention vote with 452,043 votes to retain versus 153,775 votes not to retain for a new eight-year term on the court, through 2016.[1]
Legal background
Justice Serna received his B.A. in Business Administration from the College of St. Joseph (on the Rio Grande), and his Juris Doctor from the University of Denver School of Law. Additional degrees include a Masters of Law degree from Harvard Law School and an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Denver School of Law.
Legal career
He was appointed as a District Court Judge to the First Judicial District in Santa Fe and served for over 11 years, from 1985 until 1996, during which he was also President of the New Mexico District Judges Association.[2]
Associations and Awards
- Named one of Hispanic Business Magazines 100 Most Influential Hispanics in America
- Received the Judge of the Year Award from the National Hispanic Bar Association
- Received the Outstanding Lawyer Award from the New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association
Justice Serna is a former President/Moderator of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts and remains on the Board of Directors. In 2006, the Justice received the Excellence in Jurisprudence award from the University of New Mexico Law Review. In 2006, he was appointed to the Board of Advisors for the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, University of Denver.[3]
2008 retention campaign
The Sante Fe New Mexican said that all judicial candidates up for retention votes should be retained, and also said, "Local attorneys or court staff, in a Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission poll, raised questions on Justice Serna and Judges Sánchez and Barbara Vigil about their knowledge of law — but didn't go so far as to call for rejection."[4]
The group PAC 505 has urged a "no" vote--a vote not to retain justice Serna.[5]
1996 election campaign
Serna ran against New Mexico Appeals Court judge Harris Hartz, a Republican, in 1996. Serna was a state District Court judge at the time of the campaign. Serna defeated Hartz by fewer than 5,000 votes out of more than 500,000 cast.
According to Thom Cole of the Albuquerque Journal, the Republican candidate, Hartz, got high marks as a judge from Albuquerque-area lawyers, but the community of plaintiff attorneys gave few contributions to Hartz but instead "showered Hartz's opponent, Patricio Serna, with money. Lots of it, according to an analysis of campaign financial reports."[6]
See also
External links
References
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