Last week, candidates for state elected offices in New Mexico were required to file contribution-and-expense reports. These reports reveal that the first challenger for the New Mexico Supreme Court seats held by Justices Shannon Bacon and David Thomson has come forward.
Kerry Morris is a lawyer at the ABQ Law Clinic in Albuquerque. According to the attorney profile on the firm’s website, he obtained a bachelor’s degree from UNM in 1977, and a J.D. from UNM Law School in 1981. After that, he served as a prosecutor with the Second Judicial District Attorney’s office. His profile lists a wide range of practice areas.
My Google searches reveal that he once ran for a seat on the Metropolitan Court in 1986, and as a Republican in 2004 for a seat on the Second Judicial District Court (see page 16 of this voter guide in the Albuquerque Journal). I’m assuming he’s still a Republican.
From the report on the Secretary of State’s website, it’s not clear whether he’s running against Justice Bacon or Justice Thomson (if any of you know, please drop me a line). I don’t recall ever meeting Mr. Morris, but I’m sure we’ll all learn more about him over the next 13 months.
Welcome to the race, Mr. Morris!
UPDATE (November 21, 2019): A knowledgeable source has told me that Mr. Morris is running against Justice Bacon.
UPDATE (January 11, 2019): I have recently learned that Mr. Morris has switched and is now running against Justice Thomson.
