ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico announces the elevation of Honorable Kenneth J. Gonzales to Chief Judge effective January 10, 2025, following Honorable William P. Johnson’s transition to senior status.

Judge Gonzales grew up in Nambe and graduated from Pojoaque High School; he received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico in 1988 and then earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1994.

Following law school, he served as a Judicial Law Clerk to New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Joseph F. Baca (1994-96), and then joined Senator Jeff Bingaman’s Washington Office as a Legislative Assistant (1996-99). In 1999 he became an Assistant United States Attorney for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico until May 2010 when he was appointed the 44th United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico. As U.S Attorney, he served as the top federal law enforcement official in New Mexico and represented the United States’ interests in civil cases. Judge Gonzales also served in the United States Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps in the rank of Major and in various positions and duty stations, including Senior Trial Counsel at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Adjunct Professor of Criminal Law at The Judge Advocate General Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In January 2013 President Barack Obama nominated Judge Gonzales to fill a vacant seat on the federal court bench in New Mexico. His nomination was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June 2013, and he received his commission in August 2013.

Since joining the federal court, Judge Gonzales’ duty station has been in Las Cruces where he has spent considerable time presiding over a robust general criminal docket and a wide range of civil matters from throughout the District of New Mexico. As Chief Judge, Judge Gonzales’ duty station will be in Santa Fe effective August 2025.