Michael Vigil named NM's chief justice

Justice Michael E. Vigil was sworn in Wednesday as chief justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court.

He was elected to the position by colleagues on the five-member court and will serve a term ending in April 2022. He succeeds Justice Judith K. Nakamura, who had served as chief justice since 2017 and is retiring.

Vigil took the oath of office during a remotely conducted online ceremony attended by other members of the court, judges from across the state and judicial employees. He was in Albuquerque with his wife, Terry, and outgoing Chief Justice Nakamura administered the oath from her chambers in the Supreme Court building in Santa Fe.

At the end of the ceremony, Nakamura virtually passed a runner’s baton to Vigil.

“For us at the Supreme Court, this symbolizes the orderly collegial passing of responsibility from the current Chief Justice to our new Chief Justice,” Nakamura said.

“I am honored and humbled by the confidence my colleagues have placed in me to lead the Judiciary during the midst of a deadly pandemic,” Vigil said. “There is much to be done, but my first priority is to continue the work we have started to keep our courts open for business, and at the same time, endeavor to protect the health and safety of everyone entering our courts — employees, jurors, judges, attorneys, parties, witnesses and members of the public. In this way, we will be doing our part as the third branch of our government to protect constitutional rights and administer justice in a safe manner.”

The chief justice performs court and administrative duties. In addition to presiding over Supreme Court hearings and conferences, the chief justice serves as the administrative authority over personnel, budgets and general operations of all state courts and acts as an advocate for the Judiciary on legislative, budget and other matters.

Vigil joined the state’s highest court Dec. 31, 2018, after serving on the state Court of Appeals since 2003. He was chief judge on the Court of Appeals from 2015 to 2017, and wrote more than 1,000 opinions as a member of the court.

Vigil was a private practice lawyer litigating civil, criminal and administrative cases in state and federal courts. He also worked from 1976 to 1979 as a staff attorney for the Court of Appeals pre-hearing division.

The justice graduated from Santa Fe High School in 1969 and received an undergraduate degree from the College of Santa Fe in 1973, with a major in political science and a minor in history. He earned his law degree in 1976 from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was an editor on the Georgetown Law Journal.