Judith K. Nakamura
Supreme Court Justice
Statewide
Year: 9999
Evaluation: Justice Judith Nakamura’s overall survey results were generally positive. Attorneys rated her positively for conducting herself in a manner free from impropriety, for demonstrating appropriate demeanor during proceedings, and for rendering opinions without regard to possible public criticism. The court staff scored her highly for behaving in a manner that encourages respect for the courts, for being a hard worker, and for being knowledgeable regarding substantive law and the rules of procedure and evidence. District Court Judges rated her positively on all attributes. Justice Nakamura’s scores from fellow Supreme Court Justices and Court of Appeals Judges were mostly positive, but she was rated somewhat lower when it comes to exercising sound legal reasoning and for writing opinions that decide only the issues that need to be decided in the case before the Court.
Experience & Education: Justice Judith Nakamura served as Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court, a judge in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, and a judge in the 2nd Judicial District Court. She graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1989, and was in private practice until her appointment to the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court in 1998. She was appointed to the New Mexico Supreme Court in 2015. She is active in the local community, including serving on the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Board.
PERCENTAGE THAT AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT THE JUSTICE EXHIBITS POSITIVE QUALITIES IN EACH CATEGORY *
| Attorneys (n=139, 32% Response Rate) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 82% | 8% | 10% |
| Fair and Impartial | 74% | 11% | 15% |
| Knowledgeable of Law | 76% | 13% | 10% |
| Respects Court Employees | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 80% | 9% | 11% |
| Timeliness of Rulings | 91% | 4% | 5% |
| Handles Ongoing Workload | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Court Staff (n=24, 25% Response Rate) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 91% | 5% | 5% |
| Respects Court Employees | 80% | 15% | 5% |
| Timeliness of Rulings | 78% | 17% | 6% |
| Handles Ongoing Workload | 75% | 13% | 13% |
| Appellate Judges (n=11, 73% Response Rate) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 78% | 0% | 22% |
| Fair and Impartial | 67% | 11% | 22% |
| Knowledgeable of Law | 81% | 5% | 15% |
| Respects Court Employees | 83% | 0% | 17% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Timeliness of Rulings | 88% | 0% | 13% |
| Handles Ongoing Workload | 67% | 17% | 17% |
| District Judges (n=54, 57% Response Rate) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 92% | 6% | 2% |
| Fair and Impartial | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Knowledgeable of Law | 92% | 6% | 3% |
| Respects Court Employees | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Appropriate Demeanor | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Timeliness of Rulings | 71% | 19% | 10% |
| Handles Ongoing Workload | 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. ‡
‡ 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.