FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – On May 6, 2021, the Honorable Martha Vázquez announced her intention to
assume senior status, effective January 1, 2022. Her announcement comes after 28 years of
distinguished service on the federal bench.
Judge Vázquez was nominated to the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico by
President William J. Clinton on August 6, 1993. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on
September 30, 1993, received her commission on October 1, 1993, and was sworn in on October 6,
1993.
Judge Vázquez is the first woman to have been appointed to the District Court for the District of New
Mexico. She is also the first woman to have served as Chief Judge for the District of New Mexico, a
role she held for seven years from 2003 to 2010.
During her tenure as a federal judge, Judge Vázquez served as a member of both the Committee on the
Budget and the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. She is also the
recipient of several awards, including the Henrietta Pettijohn Award, which she received in May 2015
for achievement and contribution to the progress of women in New Mexico and the nation.
Judge Vázquez was born in Santa Barbara, California on February 21, 1953, to a supportive and closelyknit
Mexican immigrant family. In 1975, she received a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, and in
1978, she received her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School. After graduation, she
worked for three years as a Public Defender for the State of New Mexico, and then joined the Jones Law
Firm in Santa Fe, where she practiced criminal defense, personal injury, and general civil law for 11
years before taking the bench.