ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico announces the appointment of Damian L. Martínez as a United States Magistrate Judge effective March 10, 2023. Judge Martínez’ duty station will be in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and there will be a formal investiture ceremony at the U.S. Courthouse in Las Cruces in the coming weeks.
A native New Mexican, Judge Martínez graduated from New Mexico Highlands University in 1998 with a Bachelor degree in Social Work. In 2001, he received his Juris Doctorate cum laude from St. Mary’s University School of Law. Upon graduation, Judge Martínez began a four-year tour on active military duty as an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate with the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps, where he handled criminal prosecutions, and also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. District Courts for the District of New Mexico and the Northern District of Texas. In 2005, Judge Martínez joined the law firm of Mynatt, Martínez and Springer P.C. in Las Cruces where he practiced law as a civil defense litigation attorney in cases involving constitutional violations, tort claims, employment and labor disputes, personal injury claims, civil rights matters, and contract law. Part of Judge Martínez’ law practice also involved representing clients in appeals that he argued before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth and Tenth Circuits and before the New Mexico Supreme Court and New Mexico Court of Appeals.
The duties of a United States Magistrate Judge are demanding and wide-ranging in both civil and criminal cases. Magistrate Judges conduct preliminary hearings in criminal cases, trials and dispositions of misdemeanor actions, discovery, and various other pretrial hearings in civil cases. They also preside over trials, civil cases upon consent of the litigants and other matters as may be assigned. Judge Martínez’ proven legal abilities combined with his strong work ethic make him well qualified for the position of a United States Magistrate Judge.