Steven Edward Blankinship
District Court Judge
12th Judicial District
Lincoln and Otero Counties
Year: 2020
Evaluation: Judge Steven Blankinship’s overall survey results were quite positive. Attorneys rated him highly for demonstrating appropriate demeanor on the bench, being courteous to all participants, and maintaining proper control over the proceedings. The resource staff (e.g., law enforcement, probation and parole officers, interpreters, etc.) rated him positively on all attributes and the court staff gave him very high ratings. In fact, the court staff gave him a perfect mean score of 5.0 (on the 5-point rating scale) when asked whether or not they would recommend retention.
Experience & Education: Judge Steven Blankinship was appointed as a District Court Judge in 2017 and subsequently elected the following year. He graduated in 2001 from Northern Arizona University and in 2004 received his law degree at The University of Akron in Ohio. Judge Blankinship was an Assistant District Attorney for the 3rd and 12th District Attorney’s offices, and an attorney for the Office of Governor Susana Martinez. Judge Blankinship received the Prosecutor of the Year award for the 3rd District Attorney’s Office in 2010-2011. Judge Blankinship taught courses on Tax and Revenue, AODA, and LEO academies; assisted in 12th Judicial District Court Pro Bono services; and is a member of various legal committees.
PERCENTAGE THAT AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT THE JUDGE EXHIBITS POSITIVE QUALITIES IN EACH CATEGORY *
| Attorneys (n=53, 34% Response Rate) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 82% | 6% | 12% |
| Fair and Impartial | 80% | 9% | 11% |
| Knowledgeable of Law | 81% | 13% | 6% |
| Communication is Clear | 83% | 12% | 5% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 88% | 6% | 6% |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | 96% | 4% | 0% |
| Court Staff (n=19, 70% 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 | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Jurors (n=41, 28% Response Rate) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 97% | 3% | 0% |
| Fair and Impartial | 95% | 3% | 2% |
| Knowledgeable of Law | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Communication is Clear | 96% | 3% | 1% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 99% | 1% | 0% |
| Respects Court Employees | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Resource Staff (n=30) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Fair and Impartial | 94% | 6% | 0% |
| Communication is Clear | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | 80% | 13% | 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. ‡
‡ 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.