Brett Loveless, a deputy district attorney and assistant supervisor in the Crimes Against Children division, has been named by Gov. Susana Martinez to fill a slot on the criminal division of the 2nd Judicial District court.
Loveless, 42, fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Neil Candelaria at the end of 2011.
He said he always has strived to be fair and level-headed, characteristics he hopes will serve him well on the bench.
Loveless graduated from the University of New Mexico with a bachelor of arts degree in 1992 and from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1995. He interned at the Albuquerque Border City Project during law school, assisting immigrants seeking legal status to remain in the United States.
He worked for Toulouse and Associates following graduation before joining the District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor in the Metropolitan Court in 1998, and worked with his wife, Jonlyn Martinez, at Slease & Martinez in 2004-2005. Except for that period, and a stint in the Economic Crimes unit, he has worked prosecuting increasingly complex child physical and sexual abuse cases and child homicides.
“I have always felt that children deserve the best advocacy to provide them with a voice and justice,” Loveless said in applying for the seat. “Although all victims of crime are entitled to justice, I believe children are underserved and suffer greater indignities, given their vulnerabilities.”
He has coached and served as a referee for the American Youth Soccer Organization, volunteered at his two children’s elementary schools and served on the parish council and as a lector at St. Charles Borromeo Church.
“I have always believed that people should be treated with dignity and respect,” Loveless said in his application. “Even as a child, I had a `heart’ for people who were more vulnerable, whether due to size, disability or some other trait…I often occupied the role as `peacemaker’ during disputes.”
Loveless is scheduled to begin his new job in the courthouse on March 5.
— This article appeared on page C2 of the Albuquerque Journal
