The Honorable Jennifer Wernersbach
2nd Judicial District
Bernalillo County
Evaluation: Judge Jennifer Wernersbach received generally positive ratings among attorneys. For example, attorneys rated her positively for attentiveness to court proceedings, treating self-represented parties fairly, and for ensuring that parties understand court proceedings. They also rated her positively for ensuring her personal staff is professional, productive, and knowledgeable of court policies and procedures. Court staff and jurors rated Judge Wernersbach highly in every area. Resource staff (e.g., law enforcement officers, CASA volunteers, CYFD, interpreters, etc.) gave her positive ratings. In addition, it is worth noting that her scores improved in almost every category when compared to her 2023 evaluation.
Experience & Education: Judge Jennifer Wernersbach received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1997 from the University of Tulsa and a law degree from the University of New Mexico in 2004. She practiced civil rights law and misdemeanor criminal defense before being appointed to the bench in 2021. Judge Wernersbach also has been a mock trial judge at UNM School of Law since joining the bench.
PERCENTAGE THAT AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT THE JUSTICE EXHIBITS POSITIVE QUALITIES IN EACH CATEGORY
The “Agree” columns are comprised of the strongly agree and agree responses. Similarly, the “Disagree” columns are comprised of the strongly disagree and disagree responses. The combined percentage of “Agree”, “Disagree”, and “Partly Agree/Partly Disagree” for each category may not equal 100% due to rounding error. Some of the percentages that are reported in the above categories are an average of more than one question that appeared on the survey.
| Attorneys (n=63, 39% Response Rate) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree / Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 69% | 20% | 11% |
| Fair and Impartial | 78% | 10% | 12% |
| Application/Knowledge of Law | 65% | 18% | 17% |
| Communication Is Clear | 74% | 16% | 9% |
| Professional Demeanor | 75% | 18% | 7% |
| Preparation and Attentiveness | 84% | 10% | 6% |
| Court Staff (n=29) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree / Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Professional Demeanor | 97% | 3% | 0% |
| Respects Court Employees | 97% | 3% | 0% |
| Jurors (n=15, 26% Response Rate) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree / Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Fair and Impartial | 98% | 0% | 2% |
| Communication Is Clear | 98% | 2% | 0% |
| Professional Demeanor | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Preparation and Attentiveness | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Resource Staff (n=13) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree / Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Fair and Impartial | 83% | 10% | 7% |
| Communication Is Clear | 80% | 10% | 10% |
| Professional Demeanor | 89% | 11% | 0% |
| Preparation and Attentiveness | 90% | 0% | 10% |
