Maria I. Dominguez
The Honorable

Maria I. Dominguez

Metropolitan Court Judge
Bernalillo County

Year: 2018

Recommendation: Retain

Election Results: Retained

Evaluation: Judge Maria Dominguez received positive ratings from the various populations surveyed. For example, attorneys rate her highly for her knowledge of the law, treating pro se parties fairly, for her oral decisions and communications being clear and thorough, and for displaying familiarity with court cases through prior preparation. Court staff and resource staff (e.g., law enforcement officers) rate her positively for all attributes. In fact, over the ten years on the bench Judge Dominguez’ scores have trended upward.

Experience & Education: Judge Maria Dominguez was appointed in 2008 to the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. Prior to her judicial appointment, she was in private practice as legal counsel for the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Air Board and contract hearing officer for the City of Albuquerque. She also served as a contract hearing officer for the New Mexico Environment Department. Judge Dominguez graduated from the University of New Mexico Law School in 1995 and started her legal career as an Assistant Public Defender.

PERCENTAGE THAT AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT THE JUDGE EXHIBITS POSITIVE QUALITIES IN EACH CATEGORY *

Attorneys (n=69, 51% Response Rate)
Category Agree Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree Disagree
Exhibits Integrity 93% 6% 1%
Fair and Impartial 91% 6% 3%
Knowledgeable of Law 90% 7% 2%
Communication is Clear 96% 4% 0%
Appropriate Demeanor 92% 4% 4%
Properly Controls Proceedings 99% 1% 0%
Respects Court Employees N/A N/A N/A
Court Staff (n=60, 32% Response Rate)
Category Agree Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree Disagree
Exhibits Integrity 87% 7% 7%
Communication is Clear N/A N/A N/A
Properly Controls Proceedings N/A N/A N/A
Respects Court Employees 85% 7% 8%
Resource Staff (n=30)
Category Agree Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree Disagree
Exhibits Integrity 83% 7% 10%
Fair and Impartial 79% 12% 9%
Knowledgeable of Law N/A N/A N/A
Communication is Clear 80% 10% 10%
Appropriate Demeanor 83% 13% 3%
Properly Controls Proceedings 86% 7% 7%
Respects Court Employees N/A N/A N/A

 

* On the tables above, 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. "N/A" indicates that the category is "not applicable" because some populations were not asked certain questions.

PERCENTAGE THAT RECOMMEND THE JUDGE BE RETAINED OR NOT BE RETAINED IN OFFICE. ‡

Attorney Retain Recommendation Bar ChartCourt Staff Retain Recommendation Bar ChartResource Staff Retain Recommendation Bar Chart

‡ On the charts above, the "Retain" columns are comprised of the strongly recommend retain and somewhat recommend retain responses. Similarly, the "Do Not Retain" columns are comprised of the strongly recommend not retain and somewhat recommend not retain responses.