Steven Romero appointed to 8th Judicial District Court judgeship.
TAOS – Steven A. Romero, who grew up in Colfax County, has been appointed as an Eighth
Judicial District Court judge.
Romero’s appointment by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham takes effect Sept. 16, 2023, and he fills
a vacancy created by the recent retirement of Judge Melissa Kennelly. As judge of Division II,
he will primarily preside over cases in Raton and Clayton.
“We are excited to have Judge Romero returning to his roots in Colfax County,” said Eighth
Judicial District Chief Judge Emilio Chavez. “He brings a breath of experience and a strong
record of patience, dignity, fairness, and impartiality to the bench.”
Romero has practiced law at the highest levels in state and federal courts and in the U.S. Army’s
Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps. He is currently a major in the Army Reserve and has
worked since 2021 as a deputy district attorney in the Seventh Judicial District, which covers
Socorro, Torrance, Sierra and Catron counties.
Romero received his law degree in 2012 from the University of New Mexico School of Law and
has served New Mexico communities in various attorney roles, including as a prosecutor in the
district attorney’s offices in the Eighth and Second Judicial Districts and as an assistant city
attorney for the city of Albuquerque. He grew up in rural Colfax County, graduated from
Cimarron High School and has civic ties and a community understanding of Colfax and Union
counties. In his spare time, he enjoys outdoor recreation and follows basketball and other sports
teams in New Mexico.
The Eighth Judicial District is composed of Colfax, Taos, and Union counties. District courts are
general jurisdiction courts. They hear and determine adult and juvenile criminal cases as well as
civil matters, including contract disputes, personal injury litigation, and domestic relations cases
such as divorce, child custody, and child support enforcement.
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