Matt Chandler appointed to judgeship

Staff report

link Matt Chandler

Former District Attorney Matt Chandler was appointed a judge of the Ninth Judicial District Court Tuesday by his close political ally Gov. Susana Martinez.

Chandler was one of six candidates seeking the seat vacated last month by the retirement of Judge Stephen Quinn. The district encompasses Curry and Roosevelt counties.

The other candidates included a current deputy district attorney, a former district attorney, a public defender and the wife of sitting District Judge Fred Van Soelen.

Chandler has a long and close association with governor but dismissed those connections during questioning last month by a panel that recommended him and the five other candidates. Earlier this year, Martinez had appointed him to University of New Mexico Board of Regents but his campaigning for a pro-Republican group targeting candidates the governor opposed set off a bitter battle in the Democrat controlled-state Senate. Chandler was rejected by the Senate, the first appointment by a governor to be rejected in the past five years.

Chandler will fill Quinn's seat through next year when he must run for re-election for retention to a six-year term.

The governor has appointed Chandler and his father, Caleb Chandler, a former Clovis police chief, magistrate court judge and Curry County commissioner, to numerous state boards and committees.

Chandler said he was humbled by the selection process because many qualified candidates with a lot of experience applied and would have made great judges.

"I don't think you can really fill Judge Quinn's shoes," Chandler said when reached by telephone. "Judge Quinn served honorably for more than 20 years and I certainly think everyone in the judicial system is going to miss the experience he brought to the bench."

Chandler served as district attorney from 2004 until his resignation in 2014 to start a private practice handling high profile cases. He ran unsuccessfully in 2010 for state Attorney General, losing to Democrat Gary King.

Chandler said he feels his years as a criminal case attorney and as a district attorney will help him in his new position as a judge for criminal trials.

"The challenging part," Chandler said, "will be moving massive dockets of cases forward in a manner that is just for all parties involved and efficient for the judicial system itself."

Two other judicial appointees were announced at the same time as Chandler's appointment. They include Emilio Chavez of Ranchos de Taos to the Eighth Judicial District Court and Patrick Cordell of Flora Vista to the Fifth Judicial District.

The other candidates seeking Quinn's seat included Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Stover, former District Attorney Brett Carter, Public Defender Chris Christensen, state CYFD attorney Erin Sumrall Van Soelen and former Ninth Judicial District Court Attorney Ben Cross.