Attorney General of New Mexico

The Attorney General of New Mexico, an elected executive officer of the state, oversees the New Mexico Attorney General's Office and serves as head of the New Mexico Department of Justice.

Attorney General of New Mexico
Incumbent
Hector Balderas
since January 1, 2015
Term lengthFour years
Formation1912
WebsiteAttorney General of New Mexico
New Mexico
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
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The officeholder, who is required to be a licensed attorney, is fifth in succession to the office of Governor of New Mexico, after the Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico, Secretary of State of New Mexico, President pro tempore of the New Mexico Senate and the Speaker of New Mexico House of Representatives.

The Attorney General of New Mexico functions as the state's chief legal officer, legal counsel to state government, consumer advocate and guardian of the public interest.

Statutory responsibilities

The officeholder represents the state before any courts or agencies when the public interest requires or when requested by the Governor and prosecutes and defends all causes in the New Mexico Supreme Court, New Mexico Court of Appeals, or any other court or tribunal in which the state is a party or is interested. The New Mexico Attorney General prosecutes and defends all actions and proceedings involving any state employee in his or her official capacity, as well as may represent residential or small business consumers before the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.

Upon request, the AG will provide written legal opinions to the legislature, any state official, or any district attorney on any subject pending before one of these officials. In matters involving the state Election Code the AG provides legal assistance to the Secretary of State of New Mexico.

The AG drafts contracts, bonds, and other instruments as required for use by the state.

At the governor's direction, the AG may attend and assist in the trial of any indictment or information in any county of the state. When a District Attorney fails or refuses to act, the AG may act on behalf of a county in any criminal or civil case.

In matters of the impeachment of a state legislator or employee, the AG initiates conflict of interest enforcement actions. The AG also prosecutes removal proceedings against district attorneys.

The AG establishes and maintains a register of all documents filed by charitable organizations and makes it available for public inspection.

List of New Mexico Attorneys General
Parties

  Democratic (28)   Republican (3)

# Name Took office Left office Party Years in office
1 Frank W. Clancy 1912 1916 Republican 5[note 1]
2 Harry L. Patton 1917 1918 Democrat 2
3 Oscar O. Askren 1919 1920 Democrat 2
4 Harry S. Bowman 1921 1922 Democrat 2
5 Milton J. Helmick 1923 1924 Democrat 2
6 John W. Armstrong 1925 1926 Democrat <2[note 2]
7 Fred E. Wilson 1926 1926 Democrat <1[note 3]
8 Robert C. Dow 1927 1928 Democrat 2
9 Miguel A. Otero III 1929 1930 Republican 2
10 Ernest K. Neumann 1931 1934 Democrat 4
11 Frank H. Patton 1935 1938 Democrat 4
12 Filo Sedillo 1939 1940 Democrat 2
13 Edward P. Chase 1941 1944 Democrat <4[note 4]
14 Clyde C. McCullough 1944 1948 Democrat <5[note 5]
15 Joe L. Martínez 1949 1952 Democrat 4
16 Richard H. Robinson 1953 1956 Democrat 4
17 Fred M. Standley 1957 1958 Democrat 2
18 Frank B. Zinn 1959 1959 Democrat <1[note 6]
19 Hilton A. Dickson, Jr. 1959 1960 Democrat <2[note 7]
20 Earl E. Hartley 1961 1964 Democrat 4
21 Boston E. Witt 1965 1968 Democrat 4
22 James A. Maloney 1969 1970 Democrat 2
23 David L. Norvell 1971 1974 Democrat 4
24 Toney Anaya 1975 1978 Democrat 4
25 Jeff Bingaman 1979 1982 Democrat 4
26 Paul G. Bardacke 1983 1986 Democrat 4
27 Harold Stratton 1987 1990 Republican 4
28 Tom Udall 1991 1998 Democrat 8
29 Patricia A. Madrid 1999 2006 Democrat 8
30 Gary King 2007 2014 Democrat 8
31 Hector Balderas 2015 Incumbent Democrat
Source:[1]
  1. Since the first state election was in an odd-numbered year (1911), the term lasted five years.
  2. Died while in office
  3. Appointed by Governor Hannett in 1926
  4. Resigned in 1944.
  5. Appointed by Governor Dempsey in 1944.
  6. Resigned in 1959.
  7. Appointed by Governor Burroughs in 1959.
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References
  1. State of New Mexico (July 2012). Kathryn A. Flynn (ed.). 2012 Centennial Blue Book (PDF). Diana J. Duran. Office of the New Mexico Secretary of State. pp. 227–229. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
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