ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – With the United States Senate recently voting to confirm the Presidential nomination of Sarah Davenport to be a United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico, President Joe Biden signed the commission formally appointing Ms. Davenport to the position of United States District Judge on January 13, 2025. At 3:30 p.m., MST, January 13, 2025, in Las Cruces, N.M., Senior U.S. District Judge Robert C. Brack administered the oath of office to Ms. Davenport thereby allowing her to become the 27th U.S. District Judge in New Mexico since statehood in 1912. Las Cruces will be the official duty station for Judge Davenport and there will be a formal ceremony at the U.S. Courthouse in Las Cruces in the coming weeks.

Born and raised in New Mexico, Judge Davenport earned her bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University in 1998 and then received her J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2006. She began her law career as an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Law Clerk with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico in Albuquerque (2006-2008). From 2008 to 2009, Ms. Davenport served as a Special Assistant U.S Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico in Las Cruces. She has served as an Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) for the District of New Mexico in Las Cruces since 2009, and as a Supervisory AUSA since 2022. As an AUSA, she has handled all areas of federal criminal prosecution, with a particular focus on complex, multi-defendant criminal cases.

Judge Davenport’s impressive legal career as a federal prosecutor in New Mexico and her strong ties to the community of Las Cruces make her well qualified for the position of United States District Judge. She will fill a judicial position that became vacant on January 10, 2025.