ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – With the United States Senate recently voting to confirm the Presidential nomination of Matthew Garcia to be a United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico, President Joe Biden signed the commission formally appointing Mr. Garcia to the position of United States District Judge on February 21, 2023. At 4:00 p.m., MST, February 23, 2023, in Albuquerque, N.M., U.S. District Judge David Herrera Urias administered the oath of office to Mr. Garcia thereby allowing him to become the 26th U.S. District Judge in New Mexico since statehood in 1912. Albuquerque will be the official duty station for Judge Garcia and there will be a formal ceremony at the Pete V. Domenici U.S. Courthouse in Albuquerque in the coming weeks.
Born and raised in New Mexico, Judge Garcia earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico (1999). Following his undergraduate studies, Judge Garcia was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and studied at the Helsinki School of Economics in Finland. He then attended Harvard University completing his M.P.P. at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Judge Garcia received his J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law (2005).
He began his law career as an associate attorney at Freedman Boyd Daniels Hollander Goldberg & Ives. Wanting to build a practice that emphasized individual claims, Judge Garcia started his own litigation firm in 2008 representing New Mexicans on claims for civil rights violations, tort matters, unlawful discrimination, and wage theft.
In 2018, he became interested in public service and applied to serve in Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration. He was appointed General Counsel to the Office of the Governor in 2019 where he advised the Governor and office staff on various legal issues ranging from state constitutional questions to statutory interpretation. Judge Garcia served in this capacity until he was promoted to the Governor’s Chief of Staff in 2021.
Judge Garcia’s impressive record of public service and proven legal abilities as one of the state’s top civil rights attorneys make him well qualified for the position of U.S. District Judge. He will fill a judicial position that became vacant on July 1, 2019.