Governor Lujan Grisham fills pair of Supreme Court seats

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# PRESS RELEASES

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# Governor Lujan Grisham fills pair of Supreme Court seats

Jan 25, 2019 | [Press Releases](https://www.governor.state.nm.us/press-releases/)

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday made two appointments to the state Supreme Court, closing the vacancies left by former Justices Charles Daniels and Petra Maes, who retired.

The governor announced C. Shannon Bacon and David K. Thomson, formerly of the Second Judicial District and First Judicial District, respectively.

“Justices Bacon and Thomson are eminently qualified jurists who have earned the broad respect of their peers, accrued decades of extensive and varied experience, and demonstrated a consistent fidelity to justice in our state,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said. “They are fair, trustworthy, intellectually rigorous and conscientious judges, and I expect the court and the state will greatly benefit from their service now as justices.”

C. Shannon Bacon was a District Court judge in the Second Judicial District, where she served since 2010. She serves as the presiding judge for the Civil Division, the Bernalillo County water judge and the Bernalillo County water conservancy judge. She is the board president of the District and Metropolitan Judges Association and has served in leadership roles or as a member on various professional legal organizations, including the New Mexico Women’s Bar, and in various civic organizations, among them the Southwest Women’s Law Center and Albuquerque Community Foundation. Bacon is an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law, teaching evidence and trial practice. Bacon was formerly partner at a pair of Albuquerque law firms and clerked under Judge A. Joseph Alarid at the New Mexico Court of Appeals. Bacon graduated from St. Pius X High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Creighton University in Omaha and her law degree from the same school. She was admitted to the state bar of New Mexico in 1997.

David K. Thomson was a District Court judge in the First Judicial District, where he served since 2014. With experience as both a litigator and judge in the state and federal systems, Thomson previously worked for more than a decade in the state Attorney General’s Office, where he served as deputy attorney general and director of the Litigation Division. Thomson is a member of and has served in leadership roles in various legal organizations, including with the American Bar Association’s Judicial Record and on the ABA’s communications and program committees, and as a volunteer at various local initiatives. Thomson has served on numerous state Supreme Court committees. He has also been a sole practitioner in Santa Fe and clerked under Judge Bruce D. Black of the U.S. District Court of New Mexico. Thomson graduated from Santa Fe High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., and his law degree from the University of Denver. He was admitted to the state bar of New Mexico in 1999.

Gov. Lujan Grisham selected Justices Bacon and Thomson from the list of candidates provided by the Judicial Nominating Commission after conducting interviews.

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## Contact

The Office of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is located on the fourth floor of the New Mexico State Capitol in Room 400.

Address: 490 Old Santa Fe Trail Room 400 Santa Fe, NM 87501

Phone: (505) 476-2200 Toll free: (833) 520-0020

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