Chief Judge, Nambe Pueblo Tribal Court

Tribal Judge, Taos Pueblo Tribal Court

Associate Judge, Acoma Pueblo Tribal Court; Judge Pro Tem, Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Court; Judge, Taos Pueblo Tribal Court

Judge William Bluehouse Johnson sits as judge at the Pueblo of Acoma and is a member of the Pueblo of Isleta with roots in Navajo, Laguna, and Hopi. He holds a J.D. from the University of New Mexico (UNM) School of Law and is licensed to practice law with the Federal bar, 10th Circuit. His prior experience includes working as a facilitator for domestic violence education classes at the Pueblo of Jemez, three years as staff attorney with Indian Pueblo Legal Services, prosecutor with the Pueblo of Zuni and the Yavapai-Apache Nation, and as Associate Judge with the Pueblos of Isleta, Laguna, Acoma, Santa Ana and Cochiti.

Judge Johnson has also worked with two private law firms owned by Native women, as a law school tutor with the Pre-Law Summer Institute at UNM, and with the Southwest Title Plant / BIA. He has been associated with the New Mexico Supreme Court Judicial Education and Training Advisory Committee, the New Mexico State Bar Indian Law Section, the New Mexico Indian Bar Association, the Southwest Indian Court of Appeals, the Criminal and Juvenile Delinquency Coordinating Council, and the New Mexico Children’s Justice Act Advisory Group.

Chief Judge, Pueblo of Isleta Tribal Court

Judge, Pueblo of Tesuque Tribal Court

Trace Rabern (she/her) is a criminal law assistant professor and tribal court judge serving the Pueblo of Tesuque. Judge Rabern previously served the Pueblo of Santa Clara and Ohkay Owingeh.  Judge Rabern has developed and implemented a tribal children’s code, a traditional adoption code, a healing to wellness court, as well as rules and procedures for juries in tribal criminal cases. Rabern relishes being outside with her dogs and planting trees for the next generation to climb.

Metropolitan Court Judge, Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court

Judge Torres is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Isleta, where she was raised. She has been a Judge on the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court since 2017. Her previous experience includes nine years with the NM Public Defender, two years as Associate Judge at the Pueblo of Isleta Tribal Court, and a year and a half as Chief Judge at the Pueblo of Zia Tribal Court.  Judge Torres graduated from New Mexico State University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism and graduated from the UNM School of Law in May 2003, completing her Juris Doctorate degree and the Indian Law Certificate.  She attended the American Indian Law Center’s Pre-law Summer Institute (PLSI) in the summer of 2000 and received the Advocacy Award for her writing and advocacy skills.  She has been a member of the New Mexico Bar Association since 2004.

Judge Torres has judged the American Indian Law Center’s Pre-Law Summer Institute Moot Court competition, taken numerous courses at the National Judicial College (NJC) in Reno, Nevada, for both State and Tribal judicial education, and she has also co-instructed a course at the NJC. She has been an active member of the New Mexico Tribal-State Judicial Consortium since April 2013 and was appointed by the Supreme Court to serve as the Co-chair in 2019. In addition to her regular criminal case docket, Judge Torres has presided over the Urban Native American Healing to Wellness Court (HTW) at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court since 2017. She is also an active member of the NM Partners, an association comprised of private and state agencies that collaborate to improve the lives of families and children in the State of New Mexico.

District Court Judge, Second Judicial District Court

Judge Catherine Begaye, a member of the Navajo Nation, is New Mexico’s only Native American District Court judge. Judge Begaye is a graduate of UNM Law School, where she was the Editor in Chief of the New Mexico Law Review and a Dean’s Award recipient for being a student who made outstanding contributions to the law school community.

She worked as a Public Defender representing juveniles and adults in District and Appellate courts. When she went into private practice in 2013, she found her calling in her work with Native families in the abuse and neglect arena. She is the Chair of the Children’s Court Rules Committee.

District Court Judge, First Judicial District Court

Judge Lidyard is a state district judge in the First Judicial District of New Mexico. The First Judicial District consists of three counties: Santa Fe, Los Alamos and Rio Arriba. Located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the First Judicial District are nine sovereign tribal nations: Kewa (Santo Domingo), Cochiti, Tesuque, Pojoaque, Nambe, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, Ohkay Owingeh, and Jicarilla Apache. In 2019, Judge Lidyard was appointed by the New Mexico Supreme Court as a voting member of the Tribal-State Judicial Consortium.

District Court Judge, Second Judicial District Court

Judge Parnall was born and raised in the South Valley in Albuquerque and attended Atrisco Elementary School as a child. He earned his BA degree from UNM, attended UNM School of Law and became a member of the New Mexico State Bar in 1979. He was a Public Defender until 1986 when he went into private practice. While in law school, along with dear friends, he started the locally famous country/western and rock and roll band called Lawyers, Guns, and Money, playing rhythm guitar and harmonica at various local venues from the late seventies to the early nineties. He still plays harmonica with the band Incredible Woodpeckers. Judge Parnall practiced law for 30 years before becoming a judge and represented clients in personal injury, criminal defense and juvenile law cases. He was appointed District Court Judge in 2007. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

District Court Judge, Thirteenth Judicial District Court

Judge Villalobos graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Mexico in 2002, with a degree in Criminology and Political Science. She graduated cum laude from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2005, where she was a member of the New Mexico Law Review. After law school, Judge Villalobos clerked for Justice Pamela Minzner of the New Mexico Supreme Court for one year before entering private practice. After five years in private practice, she worked as Assistant District Attorney for the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Grants, and then as staff attorney for the New Mexico Court of Appeals Prehearing Division in Albuquerque. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed her to the bench in 2019 and since that time she has served as District Court Judge in the 13th Judicial District Court, in Cibola County. As the sole district court judge in Cibola County, she has a general jurisdiction docket and presides over all types of cases.

Metropolitan Court Judge, Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court

Judge Sedillo attended Albuquerque High School and the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management, where he obtained his BBA in 1982. A multi-sport athlete in high school, he was an honor student at the University of New Mexico and played college football and baseball for the Lobos, earning academic all-conference honors in football for three consecutive seasons. Judge Sedillo earned his JD from the UNM School of Law in 1987. After law school, he worked in private practice and in the University Counsel’s Office at UNM, before his appointment to the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court in 2000. He has been Presiding Civil Judge in that Court since 2015.

Besides the Tribal State Judicial Consortium, Judge Sedillo has served in various roles for numerous other committees and commissions, and he is currently a member of the NM Mexico State Bar Committee on Diversity in the Legal Profession, the NM Supreme Court Data Standards Committee, and the NM State Bar Legal Services & Programs Committee, which he co-chairs. He is a former president and current member of the American Inn of Court, and he serves as a guest lecturer at the UNM School of Law.

Beyond the legal profession, Judge Sedillo is active in the UNM Alumni Letterman Association, and he has been active as a coach, official, and volunteer for numerous youth sports teams, as well as an instructor and volunteer for area high school programs and youth summer camps.

Associate Justice, New Mexico Supreme Court

Justice Briana Zamora was appointed to the New Mexico Supreme Court in July 2021. She began her judicial career when she was appointed to the Metropolitan Court bench in December 2008. She was then elected to the Bernalillo County District Court in 2012. As a trial court judge, she spent a decade presiding almost exclusively over adult criminal cases. In addition to her day-to-day docket, she presided in various specialty courts, including, Homeless Court, Courts to School, Urban Native American Healing to Wellness Court and the medically assisted treatment track of drug court. Justice Zamora was also elected to the Court of Appeals where she authored opinions in all areas of the law.

Justice Zamora was born and raised in New Mexico. She is a graduate of New Mexico State University and received her law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law.