Gov. Susana Martinez will choose between four people she has previously appointed as she selects a new judge to fill a vacancy in the 2nd Judicial District Court’s criminal division.
The Judicial Nominating Commission announced Wednesday that four names were submitted to Martinez for consideration: Stephen French, Ned Fuller, Daniel Jose Gallegos and Chris Schultz.
French was most recently appointed to the Court of Appeals in December 2016 and he lost an election this month to keep that position. He was appointed to the same court earlier in 2016, too. Prior to that, French worked as a prosecutor, defense attorney and civil trial lawyer.
Fuller, now the acting secretary for the General Services Division, was a 2nd Judicial District Court judge for several months after being appointed by Martinez in July 2014. Fuller has also worked as the legal bureau chief of the state Risk Management Division.
Gallegos was appointed to the Court of Appeals at the beginning of the year, but lost this year’s election to his Democrat challenger. He has also worked as a military prosecutor, staff attorney for the Court of Appeals, and prosecutor in both Bernalillo and Sandoval counties.
Schultz spent 10 years as a police officer and now reviews officer-involved shootings and backlog cases as a special prosecutor in Bernalillo County. He was twice appointed a Metropolitan Court judge, once in August 2014 and again in August 2015.
The appointee will fill a vacancy created by the Oct. 31 retirement of Judge Alan Malott. Although Malott served in the court’s civil division, the new judge will handle criminal cases.
