Clingman appointed to N.M. Supreme Court

Fifth Judicial District Judge Gary Clingman is “humbled” by his appointment Friday to New Mexico’s highest court.

The announcement came Friday afternoon, as Gov. Susana Martinez stated she has appointed Clingman to fill the New Mexico Supreme Court vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Edward Chavez. Clingman has more than 30 years of legal experience, including about 21 years as district judge in Lea County. He was chosen out of two recommendations made Thursday by the state supreme court nominating commission, which were Clingman and N.M. Court of Appeals Judge Michael Vigil. The two were the only applicants for the vacancy.

On Friday, he called his appointment to the state supreme court a “tremendous honor,” explaining he found out around 1 p.m., when the governor’s office contacted him.

“I feel humbled because there’s only been 65 people sit on the supreme court since we became a state well over a hundred years ago,” he said. “Many people had the ability, but very few get the opportunity and I’m grateful that I’ve been given the opportunity to serve the citizens of our state in that capacity.”

Martinez said Clingman has always demonstrated wisdom and integrity during his service in New Mexico.

“I am proud to appoint him to the highest court in our state so he can continue to devote his career to standing for justice and upholding the law for the people of New Mexico,” said Martinez

Former Gov. Gary Johnson appointed Clingman to the Fifth Judicial District Court bench in 1997. He served as chief justice for the district from 2006-2013, which consists of Lea, Eddy and Chaves counties. Clingman gained “extensive experience” in criminal, children’s court and domestic relations law while on the district court bench, according to the governor’s office.

A Texas native, Clingman attended high school in Oklahoma and earned his bachelor’s degree from University of Texas of the Permian Basin. He is a former law enforcement officer and obtained his law degree from Texas Tech University. He later went on to complete a master’s degree in judicial studies from University of Nevada, Reno in 2014.

He moved to Hobbs in 1985 and worked at the Maddox law firm for 12 years before Johnson’s appointment. Clingman has also served as president of the Hobbs Boys and Girls Club.

This marked his second time applying for a state supreme court vacancy. In 2015, he applied for the seat left vacant by the retirement of Justice Richard Bosson and was one of four applicants recommended to Martinez, but the appointment went to the current chief justice, Judith Nakamura. Both times, Clingman asserted that he believes geographic diversity is important on the supreme court. He said the last time it had a judge from rural New Mexico was in the 1990s.

“I think our court has done a very good job of bringing ethnic and gender diversity to the supreme court,” he said. “I think we need to remember that about almost half of our population lives outside Albuquerque, Santa Fe. But I think that it’s important to rural New Mexico. We have a unique point of view about matters that affect us differently than it would affect someone who lived in the great urban centers of our state.”

Clingman said he believes he has a “proven record” of hard work, diligence and “not being afraid to tackle hard issues” that come before the court.

“I want our citizens to know that I see the court’s role as interpreting the law and interpreting the statutes that have been passed by the people’s representatives in the legislature,” he said.

As to what’s next, Clingman said he’ll give his two weeks notice to the Fifth Judicial District. He has a trial scheduled for this coming week and he’ll wrap up other business the following week before starting his new job on April 23.

Kelly Farrell can be reached at courts@hobbsnews.com.