---
title: "Brenna Clani-Washinawatok | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brenna-clani-washinawatok-eleventh-judicial-district-court-nm"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Brenna Clani-Washinawatok

Eleventh Judicial District Court · District Court Judge

## Profile

- Court: Eleventh Judicial District Court
- State: New Mexico
- Role: District Court Judge
- Service status: active

## Summary

Brenna Clani-Washinawatok — Eleventh Judicial District Court

## Biography

### Professional career

- Her 2025 appointment marked a historic milestone as the first Native American woman to serve as a district judge in the 11th Judicial District
- From 2022, served the Eleventh Judicial District as a child support and domestic relations hearing officer and domestic violence commissioner
- The court identified her as its first Native American district judge
- Legal Career: Former attorney in the New Mexico Health Care Authority Child Support Services Division, Eleventh Judicial District assistant district attorney, Navajo Nation Department of Justice staff attorney, and senior policy analyst for the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department
- District Judge, Division 6 of the 11th Judicial District Court of New Mexico, which covers San Juan and McKinley counties
- Brenna L. Clani-Washinawatok is the first Native American woman to serve as a district court judge in New Mexico’s 11th Judicial District, presiding over cases in San Juan and McKinley counties

### Education

- University of New Mexico School of Law — magna cum laude — J.D. (2005)
- Bachelor's degree — Stanford University

### Additional information

- Appointed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in March 2025 to succeed retired Judge Daylene Marsh.

## Sources

- [eleventhdistrict.nmcourts.gov](https://eleventhdistrict.nmcourts.gov/about-this-district/district-courts/san-juan-county-aztec-farmington-district-court/)
- [nmcourts.gov](https://nmcourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Farmington-attorney-becomes-first-Native-American-district-court-judge-in-Eleventh-Judicial-District-2.pdf)

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## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [New Mexico Rule 23-107 — media coverage](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-16ed52dd2958e6571bf2469d) — 2018 dated rule; not extended to Municipal Courts. Media coverage exceptions and judicial control apply. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://nmcourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Rule-23-107-12-20-2018.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.