Address
1000 New York Ave., Room 261
Alamogordo, NM 88310

Phone: 575-434-0574

Fax: 575-812-5091

Email: aladdiv1proposedtxt@nmcourts.gov

TCAA: Kaitlan Ruckel

Biography:
Judge Stephen Ochoa was raised in Carlsbad, NM, and graduated from Carlsbad High School.  He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Mexico and subsequently earned his J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law.  Judge Ochoa began his legal career as a prosecutor for the First Judicial District in Santa Fe, NM.  He later prosecuted criminal cases in both the Second Judicial District and the Twelfth Judicial District.  In 2017, Judge Ochoa began working as a trial attorney for the Law Office of the Public Defender (LOPD) in Ruidoso, NM, and later became the Managing Attorney for the Ruidoso LOPD Office.  On July 22, 2023, Judge Ochoa was appointed to the bench by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, where he will sit as the Division I District Judge for the 12th Judicial District Court. Judge Ochoa currently presides over criminal cases, children’s court cases, abuse and neglect cases, and the Veterans Treatment Court program.

Address
1000 New York Ave.
Alamogordo, NM 88310

Phone: 575-437-3030

Email: aladdiv2proposedtxt@nmcourts.gov

TCAA: Andrea Carrillo

Biography:
Judge Lori Gibson Willard is a native Lincoln County resident. She was born and raised in Carrizozo, NM. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from New Mexico State University in both regular and special education. She taught school in TorC, NM and Las Cruces, NM and then later attended Oklahoma City University School of Law earning her Juris Doctorate. Her first job was for the 12th Judicial District Attorney’s office prosecuting Domestic Violence. She later opened a private law practice in Ruidoso, New Mexico where she practiced general litigation focusing on family law for almost 21 years. On May 10, 2025, Judge Gibson Willard was appointed to the bench by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, where she sits as the Division II District Judge for the 12th Judicial District Court. Judge Gibson Willard presides over general civil and family law cases.

Address
1000 New York Ave.
Alamogordo, NM 88310

Phone: 575-437-3714

Fax: 575-812-5093

Email: caiddiv3proposedtxt@nmcourts.gov

TCAA: Vicki Moran

Biography:
Judge Bryant has been a District Court Judge since September 2015. He has the
experience of presiding over criminal, civil, family law, probate, administrative, and children’s court
cases. He currently presides over a general jurisdiction docket split between both Lincoln and Otero
counties.

Judge Bryant has served as the Chairman of the Lincoln County Juvenile Justice Board since 2015,
which develops and oversees funding for diversion programs for local youth. He was appointed to
serve as a member of the District Metropolitan Court Judges Association by Chief Judge James
Counts and has served that organization as its vice president for four years. Judge Bryant also
serves on the New Mexico Sentencing Commission, the New Mexico guardianship revision working
group and is the presiding judge in two of the District’s adult treatment courts.

Judge Bryant is a native New Mexican. He received his high school diploma from Albuquerque High
School, his Bachelor of Arts at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas New Mexico, and his
Juris Doctor from the University of New Mexico. Upon graduation from law school Judge Bryant
moved to the Twelfth Judicial District establishing his home in Ruidoso and practiced law here for
thirty-eight years prior to taking the bench in 2015.

Address
1000 New York Ave., Room 203
Alamogordo, NM 88310

Phone: 575-437-7310

Fax: 575-812-5094

TCAA: Denise Ledoux

Address
300 Central Ave.
Carrizozo, NM 88301

Phone: 575-648-2902

Fax: 575-648-4580

Email: aladdiv5proposedtxt@nmcourts.gov

TCAA: Rachel Skinner

Biography:
Judge John P. Sugg serves as a District Judge for New Mexico’s Twelfth Judicial District, where he presides over a general jurisdiction docket encompassing criminal, civil, family law, probate/estate, administrative, and children’s court matters, primarily in Lincoln County. He is a member of the Rules of Civil Procedure for State Courts Committee and chairs the Twelfth Judicial District’s Pro Bono Committee. From 2021 to 2025, he presided over the District’s Veterans’ Treatment Court.

Before taking the bench, Judge Sugg was the elected District Attorney for the Twelfth Judicial District from September 2016 through December 2020. In that role, he served on the New Mexico Sentencing Commission, the New Mexico Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Task Force, and the New Mexico Supreme Court’s Ad Hoc Pretrial Release Committee. His legal career began as a prosecutor in Albuquerque, after which he became the Supervising Deputy District Attorney in Lincoln County. He later founded and operated his own law firm in Ruidoso, providing comprehensive legal services to clients throughout southeastern New Mexico.

A native of Albuquerque, Judge Sugg graduated from St. Pius X High School. He earned his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of New Mexico School of Law, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif. He also graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Mexico with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Criminology.

Otero Mailing/Physical Address
1000 New York Ave.
Alamogordo, NM 88310

Lincoln Address
300 Central Ave.
Carrizozo, NM 88301

Lincoln Mailing
P.O. Box 725
Carrizozo, NM 88301

Phone: 575-434-1515

Fax: 575-812-5091

Email: aladdrproposedtxt-grp@nmcourts.gov

Administrative Assistant: Kimberly Paz

Biography:
Born in Thibodaux, Louisiana, Hearing Officer Granier has called New Mexico home since her arrival in 2003. She received her high school diploma from Louisiana School for Math, Science, & the Arts, her B.A. from Louisiana State University, and her J.D. from Tulane Law School. She is licensed to practice law in both New Mexico and Louisiana. She has practiced in Otero and Lincoln Counties since moving to Alamogordo in 2017.

As the appointed Domestic Relations Hearing Officer for the Twelfth Judicial District Court, Hearing
Officer Granier conducts evidentiary hearings on behalf of the presiding judges. She hears domestic
violence, child custody, and child support cases.

Address
263 Robert H. Bradley Drive
Alamogordo, NM 88310

Phone: 575-437-9000

Address
263 Robert H. Bradley Drive
Alamogordo, NM 88310

Phone: 575-437-9000

Biography:
Judge Albert Greene was born to a military family in Minot, North Dakota and grew up living at numerous locations throughout the country and graduated from high school in Rhode Island.  He received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Drew University in New Jersey and later his J.D. from the Quinnipiac University School of Law in Connecticut.  He began his legal career as a Capitol Hill intern for the U.S. House of Representatives in college and later served as clerk for the Connecticut Superior Court at the time of graduation from law school.   Judge Greene began the practice of law in 2006 as a lawyer with the Law Office of the New Mexico Public Defender in Chaves County.  He later served as a team leader with the L.O.P.D. in Dona Ana County.  Judge Greene went on to spend over ten (10) years in private practice representing clients in various areas of civil and criminal law.  He later acted as a Senior Trial Attorney at the Office of the Twelfth Judicial District Attorney, a Senior Attorney at N.M.C.Y.F.D., and the Domestic Relations Hearing Officer for the Twelfth Judicial District.  Judge Greene has served on the Otero County Magistrate Court since October of 2023.  He also serves as a member of the New Mexico Judicial Employee Grievance Board and the Judicial Branch Performance Measures Committee.

Address
300 Central Ave.
Carrizozo, NM 88301

Phone: 575-648-2389

Biography:
Judge Mickie L. Vega serves as a Magistrate Judge for Div. I in Lincoln County, where she presides over a limited jurisdiction docket encompassing criminal misdemeanors (DWI, Battery on household members) traffic, civil cases and felony preliminary matters. She currently presides over the innovative pre-adjudication treatment court for 12^th Judicial District for first time felony drug offenders, and is also the designated Competency Diversion Judge for the Competency Diversion pilot program.

A native of Lincoln County, she graduated from Capitan High School. She earned her Associates of Arts degree, Bachelors of Arts degree, and paralegal studies from Eastern New Mexico University. Since 2011, she has been an active a member with the State Bar of New Mexico, paralegal division.

Judge Vega began her career with the judiciary as a court clerk for municipal court, subsequently working in the 12^th Judicial District Court in various positions to include judicial specialist, court monitor, TCAA, and court manager. On April 18, 2014 she was appointed to the magistrate bench by Governor Martinez, where she proudly serves.

Throughout her terms in office, she has been appointed to serve on several committees to include the Code of Professional Conduct, Judicial Information System Counsel (JIFFY/JTEC), Courts of Limited Jurisdiction Rules Committee, the Civil Rules Committee, and the Forms committee.

In 2023, Judge Vega was appointed by the New Mexico Supreme Court, and currently serves as a Commissioner with the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission.

Address
101 Service Road
Ruidoso, NM 88345

Phone: 575-378-7022

Biography:
Katie G. Lund has deep roots in Lincoln County, having been born and raised in Ruidoso by her parents, Hoyt and Kim Graham. Now residing in Alto with her husband Jon Lund, whom she has been married to for 16 years, they are proud parents to four children: Gavin, Madison, Averi, and Canon. A 1993 graduate of Ruidoso High School, Lund furthered her education at New Mexico State University, earning a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice.

She began her professional journey in 2004 as a Probation and Parole Officer with the New Mexico Corrections Department in Lincoln County, and by 2008, she had advanced to the role of District 12 Adult Probation and Parole Supervisor for both Lincoln and Otero Counties.

In 2014, she was appointed by then-Governor Susana Martinez to serve as the 12th Judicial Division II Magistrate Court Judge. Throughout her tenure, Lund has prioritized continuous education, participating in various trainings and workshops through the Judicial Education Center of New Mexico and the National Judicial College.

She believes that effective judges make decisions grounded in evidence, legal knowledge, and a commitment to fair justice, and considers it a profound honor to serve the citizens of Lincoln County alongside her colleagues in the 12^th Judicial District.

An interesting fact about Judge Lund is her background as a competitive Rocky Mountain skier, where she qualified for the Jr. Olympics twice. Recently, the Lund family acquired the Ruidoso Flower Shop, a business previously owned by her mother, Kim, from 1975 to 1985.