Candidate Q&A: Supreme Court

Michael Vigil is the chief judge for the New Mexico Court of Appeals, and is running for the New Mexico Supreme Court.

Vigil, running as a Democrat, has been on the court of appeals since his appointment by then-Gov. Bill Richardson. He began his law career as a staff attorney for the court of appeals, and was in private practice until his appointment. He was a finalist for the Supreme Court position created by Richard Bosson’s retirement. He is running against Judith Nakamura, the eventual appointment to the position.

Vigil

Candidates were asked the same questions, and asked to refrain from criticizing their opponent.

What is your background in the legal field, and how do you feel it best qualifies you for the position?

I am Chief Judge of the New Mexico Court of Appeals, on which I have served since 2003. I have sat on over 3,000 appellate cases and written over 1,000 appellate opinions. I appeared as counsel in every New Mexico judicial district and was appellate counsel in over 50 precedent-setting cases as a practicing attorney for 27 years before serving on the Court of Appeals.

My greatest achievement has been working hard for the last 13 years on the Court of Appeals for all the people of New Mexico to enforce the laws and protect their rights: their personal rights, their property rights, their constitutional rights.

I have twice been recommended as qualified for the New Mexico Supreme Court by the bi-partisan Appellate Judges Nominating Commission. My judicial philosophy is that everyone, regardless of their race, religion, sex, national origin, social class, or sexual orientation should have their day in court and be heard because justice isn't only about laws, it's about lives.

What would you do to make the Supreme Court more efficient for citizens?

The Supreme Court can provide for the safety of our children and communities by implementing practical rules for district attorneys and courts and by creating tools that laboratories and police officers need to do their jobs.

How do you try to balance the rules on the books with societal changes?

The “rules on the books” are those laws adopted by the Legislature, and as society evolves, those laws should change as well. When the legislature has not acted in response to societal changes, the job of a Supreme Court Justice is to do the best s/he can to interpret the law as the Legislature intended. This can be very difficult, and very often points to the need for legislative change. As far as the Constitution is concerned, the challenge is to try to discern how the provision in question can be applied to a changing society without changing the constitution. Again, a very difficult process. In both cases, the job is not to “re-write” either the statute or constitutional provision.

Do you have any concerns a Supreme Court office is decided via partisan election?

Judges are not politicians, and they should not be elected in the same way, or for the same reasons, that legislators and executives are elected. Judges are tasked with impartially applying the law, and the politics of the day should not influence justice.

What do you think is the best method for keeping Supreme Court justices accountable to the public? Are retention elections the best method, or is another practice preferable?

Judges are subject to the high standards set forth in the Code of Judicial Conduct. When those standards are violated, a judge may be punished or even removed by the Supreme Court. The Judicial Performance Elections Commission collects information and data on judges' performance and makes recommendations to the citizens on whether a judge should remain in office. The citizens then have a say in whether a judge should be retained in retention elections. This is more oversight than any other elected official I am aware of, and in my view, adequate.

New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura is running to retain her seat.

Nakamura, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici and attorney for the state land office, is running as a Republican. She was appointed last year by Gov. Susana Martinez to replace the retiring Richard Bosson. She must run in this election cycle for the seat, with the election winner only subject to retention elections thereafter.

Nakamura

Candidates were asked the same questions, and asked to refrain from criticizing their opponent.

What is your background in the legal field, and how do you feel it best qualifies you for the position?

I’ve been in the legal profession for about 27 years and prior to going to the bench, I spent my career in various sectors, which I think is important. Out of law school I went to work for the state land office, where I became their general counsel. I represented a computer re-seller for a period of time and also worked in private practice. While in private practice, I was primarily defending people who were sued and it was during that period of time I developed interest in becoming a judge. I started disliking what I was seeing from judges. They weren’t following the rules or following the law.

I am the only person on the Supreme Court that has served at every level of the court system, with that being the metro court, district court and the supreme court. What has prepared me best is the diversity of my background, because the Supreme Court does two things — we supervise all of the courts and lawyers in the state and also hear cases. I am the only justice whose entire career on the bench was adjudicating criminal cases. That’s important because 65 percent of what we do is criminal. I think it’s the diversity of the background in my legal career and in my government court career that has best prepared me for the court.

What would you do to make the Supreme Court more efficient for citizens?

I think cases need to speed up. Two things I’ve always felt strongly about is reducing the time of disposition of a case and transparency in the courts. Justice delayed is justice denied, so I’d like to see periods of time for when people have to take certain actions shortened while also delivering easier access to records.

How do you try to balance the rules on the books with societal changes?

Obviously, we have to apply the law as written and at the end you hope justice is done. But many of the laws and rules weren’t written with current technology in place. There has to be a common sense application of the law to the times today — staying true to the laws as written by the ones who write the laws.

Do you have any concerns a Supreme Court office is decided via partisan election?

I have enormous concerns with the way we select judges. New Mexico combines the best of all systems and the worst. The best is we select judges and supreme court justices through a non-partisan selection commission when there is a vacancy. Then we combined the worst system, which is taking a merit-selected judge or justice and throwing them into a political, partisan race. And it’s a problem for judges because we can’t discuss substantive issues. I can’t tell you how I feel about the hot-button issues of the day, because if that issue is before the court, people would say we have pre-judged the issue. I don’t necessarily advocate taking the voters out of it. I think once the person has been selected through this process, have a confirmation process.

What do you think is the best method for keeping Supreme Court justices accountable to the public? Are retention elections the best method, or is another practice preferable?

I do think having the elections is the best method. It’s a very careful balance. If my loyalty is only to the laws as written, even if I don’t agree with the law, your duty is to follow the laws written by the Legislature and implemented by our executive branch. We always have to have a careful balance ensuring people aren’t just removing a judge for their adherence of the law as written by others. Allowing the public to vote as we do, where a judge has to get 57 percent of the vote to be kept is a way to keep any elected official accountable to the public.”

The sort of yes / no has become a favorite process across the country. I’m not aware of other systems that have convinced me yet there is a better system. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist. If there is a better way, we should examine that.

— compiled by Staff Writer Douglas Clark