COURTS
Julie Vargas sworn in as new Supreme Court chief justice
Vargas served on state Court of Appeals before joining the high court
Published
Modified
Justice Julie J. Vargas was sworn in this week to serve a two-year term as the state's 44th chief justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court.
She succeeds Justice David K. Thomson, who swore in Vargas on Wednesday. Thomson had served as chief justice since 2024.
Vargas joined the five-member court in 2020 after serving four years on the New Mexico Court of Appeals. She previously spent 23 years in private practice, handling real estate and commercial litigation, often for small businesses and landowners, according to a statement issued by the Administrative Office of the Courts.
鈥淚t is a great privilege and honor to serve the people of New Mexico in leading the state鈥檚 judicial branch of government,鈥� Vargas said in the statement. 鈥淚 look forward to working with our dedicated judges, court staff and others in the legal community to expand access to justice, particularly in rural areas where there are few attorneys.鈥�
Vargas will continue to work with the court's ethics and professional responsibility committees, which promote professionalism in the conduct of attorneys and judges.
She has served as chairperson of the judicial committee seeking alternatives to the current bar examination process for licensing lawyers to practice in New Mexico.
Vargas graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1993, where she served as editor of the New Mexico Law Review. She earned her bachelor's degree from Brown University in 1990.
