Sheri Raphaelson
Sheri A. Raphaelson was a district court judge for the First Judicial District of New Mexico. She was appointed to the court in 2009 by Governor Bill Richardson.[1] Raphaelson ran for retention in 2014 but was not retained. She stepped down from the bench at the end of her term on January 1, 2015. See: "In the news" section below.[2]
Elections
2014
Raphaelson was not retained to the First District Court after receiving 55.87 percent of the vote on November 4, 2014. Needing at least 57 percent of the voters to vote "yes" to retain her, Raphaelson fell 500 votes short. [2] Needing at least 57 percent of the voters to vote "yes" to retain her, Raphaelson fell 500 votes short.[3]
Judicial performance evaluation
The New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission recommended that Judge Raphaelson not be retained.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
- See also: New Mexico judicial elections, 2010
Endorsements
Raphaelson was endorsed by the Rio Grande Sun.[1]
Education
Raphaelson received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and her J.D. degree from the New England School of Law in 1989.[4]
Career
From 1996 until her appointment to the First Judicial District Court, Raphaelson worked as an attorney in private practice in Espanola, New Mexico. She also previously served as a public defender in Roswell and Santa Fe and as a special master for the Rio Arriba Drug Court from 2004 to 2009.[4]
Noteworthy events
Raphaelson contests term expiration date
In the general election on November 4, 2014, Raphaelson lost her retention election to the First Judicial District Court. Two days later, she sent a letter to Chief Judge Raymond Z. Ortiz stating that she should not have even been on the ballot that election year. The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office asked approval from the New Mexico Supreme Court to remove Raphaelson from office at the end of the contested term on January 1, 2015.[3]
In her letter, Raphaelson argued that, though she was appointed to the First Judicial District Court by Governor Richardson in 2009, her six-year term did not commence until her election to the court in November 2010 and the subsequent start of that term on January 1, 2011. Under the New Mexico Constitution and the system for judicial selection in New Mexico, vacancies on a court may be filled by gubernatorial appointment after which the appointee must run for election to the court in the next general election. From then on, judges are subject to yes-no retention elections every six years.[3]
In response, the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office argued that the provision in the law which governs in this instance states that an appointed judge “shall hold the office until the expiration of the original term.” Raphaelson was elected to the court in 2010 only to serve out the remainder of the preceding judge's term, with the expiration date of January 1, 2015. Raphaelson's name was properly on the ballot in 2014 "[b]ecause she inherited a six-year term two years after it had begun."[3] At further issue was the fact that Raphaelson failed to bring up the discrepancy in her term dates before she voluntarily participated in the election process in 2014.[3]
Update
On December 15, 2014, the New Mexico Supreme Court ordered that Raphaelson must vacate the bench by January 1, 2015.[5] Raphaelson had planned on remaining on the bench until January 1, 2017, which she had claimed was the true end date of her current term.[3]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rio Grande Sun "Court Picks For June Primary," May 20, 2010
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 New Mexico Secretary of State, "2014 Primary Candidate List"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Albuquerque Journal, "Supreme court asked to remove judge from bench," November 22, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, "Sheri A. Raphaelson biography," accessed November 24, 2014
- ↑ Albuquerque Journal, "Judge Raphaelson must leave the bench, state Supreme Court rules," December 15, 2014
Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of New Mexico • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of New Mexico
State courts:
New Mexico Supreme Court • New Mexico Court of Appeals • New Mexico District Courts • New Mexico Magistrate Court • New Mexico Municipal Courts • New Mexico Probate Courts • New Mexico Problem-Solving Courts • New Mexico Workers' Compensation Administration Court • Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court
State resources:
Courts in New Mexico • New Mexico judicial elections • Judicial selection in New Mexico