Yesterday the Republican Party of Grant County posted the following photo on its Twitter feed:
1st VC Curtis Stevens Jr. w/NM Supreme Court applicant Gary Clingman during his visit to Silver City yesterday.#nmpol pic.twitter.com/b66Quq56EL
— GOP of Grant County (@GrantCounty_GOP) September 13, 2015
Looks like we now have our first official applicant for the upcoming vacancy on the New Mexico Supreme Court!
Judge Gary Clingman is a district judge on the Fifth Judicial District Court, which covers Chaves, Eddy, and Lea Counties in southeastern New Mexico. He has served on that court since 1997. He obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of Texas, and his law degree from Texas Tech Law School.
I’ve never appeared before Judge Clingman, but on Friday I did hear him give a presentation on appeals from bench trials at the New Mexico Appellate Practice Institute (Judge Linda Vanzi of the Court of Appeals, and appellate lawyer Alice Tomlinson Lorenz, joined him in that excellent program).
You can also check out this YouTube video that Judge Clingman made when he was Chief Judge of the Fifth Judicial District Court.
I look forward to hearing about any other judges or lawyers who may be applying to sit on the New Mexico Supreme Court. I’ve heard rumors about possible candidacies, but nothing definite yet. If you have information about anyone else who is definitely running, please let me know.
