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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

United States District Court for the District of New Mexico

United States federal district court of New Mexico

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 29, 2026
Entity authorityQ7889784 ↗
Source-derived summary

The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico (in case citations, D.N.M.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of New Mexico. Court is held in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe.

Appeals from the District of New Mexico are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The acting United States attorney is Ryan Ellison since 2025.

Current judges

As of February 1, 2026:

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “United States District Court for the District of New Mexico” as united States federal district court of New Mexico. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2025, 2026—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where United, States and District can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as united States federal district court of New Mexico. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7889784. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2025 and 2026.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “United States District Court for the District of New Mexico”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow United States District Court for the District of New Mexico primary sources, United States District Court for the District of New Mexico archive and United research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “United States District Court for the District of New Mexico”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “United States District Court for the District of New Mexico” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.