Gerald Edward Baca
The Honorable

Gerald Edward Baca

District Court Judge
4th Judicial District
Guadalupe, Mora, and San Miguel Counties

Year: 2020

Recommendation: Retain

Election Results: Retained

Evaluation: Judge Gerald Baca’s evaluation results were quite positive. Attorneys rated him highly for being attentive to the proceedings, demonstrating appropriate demeanor on the bench, treating all participants equally, and for being courteous to all participants. The court staff rated him highly for behaving in a manner that encourages respect for the courts and for respecting court employees regardless of position. Resource staff (e.g., law enforcement, probation and parole officers, interpreters, etc.) rated him highly on all attributes.

Experience & Education: Judge Gerald Baca was appointed to the District Court in May of 2013 and was elected to the position in November of 2014. He presently serves as Chief Judge of the 4th Judicial District Court. Judge Baca has a general jurisdiction docket and hears all types of cases. He previously served on the District Court bench in 2007-2008. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Baca practiced law for 25 years, handling a wide variety of cases. He received his undergraduate degree from New Mexico Highlands University in 1983 and his law degree from the UNM School of Law in 1987.

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

Attorneys (n=75, 40% Response Rate)
Category Agree Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree Disagree
Exhibits Integrity 94% 4% 1%
Fair and Impartial 91% 6% 3%
Knowledgeable of Law 82% 16% 2%
Communication is Clear 88% 9% 3%
Appropriate Demeanor 95% 4% 1%
Properly Controls Proceedings 94% 3% 3%
Court Staff (n=16, 57% Response Rate)
Category Agree Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree Disagree
Communication is Clear N/A N/A N/A
Properly Controls Proceedings N/A N/A N/A
Respects Court Employees 93% 7% 0%
Resource Staff (n=11)
Category Agree Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree Disagree
Fair and Impartial 100% 0% 0%
Communication is Clear 91% 9% 0%
Appropriate Demeanor 100% 0% 0%
Properly Controls Proceedings 100% 0% 0%
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.