---
title: "Gerald E. Baca | KnowJudges"
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page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Gerald E. Baca

New Mexico Court of Appeals · Court of Appeals Judge

## Profile

- Court: New Mexico Court of Appeals
- State: New Mexico
- Role: Court of Appeals Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-26

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Gerald E. Baca is a Democratic Party judge of the New Mexico Court of Appeals, appointed in April 2021 and re‐elected in 2022, with a decades‐long career in public service and private legal practice
- He earlier served on the Fourth Judicial District Court in 2007–2008 and 2013–2021, among them service as chief judge, presiding over civil and criminal matters in Guadalupe, Mora and San Miguel counties
- Chief Judge of the 4th Judicial District Court (Guadalupe, Mora, San Miguel Counties)

### Education

- His academic qualifications include a political science bachelor’s degree at New Mexico Highlands University in 1984 and a University of New Mexico J.D. in 1987.
- Political Science — New Mexico Highlands University — B.A.

### Additional information

- Appointed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals in April 2021 by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
- The cited overview records New Mexico bar admission in 1987.
- Before judicial service, his career encompassed nearly twenty years of private practice, work as chief deputy district attorney for the Fourth Judicial District and assistant district attorney service in the First Judicial District.
- His judicial performance is reviewed by the New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### media electronic device coverage

Scope: statewide

New Mexico Rule 23-107 authorizes broadcasting, televising, photographing, and recording in state court proceedings subject to the rule's guidelines and judicial control.

Evidence excerpt: The broadcasting, televising, photographing, and recording of court proceedings in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, district courts, magistrate courts, and metropolitan courts of the State of New Mexico are hereby authorized in accordance with the guidelines promulgated herewith.

[Rule 23-107. Broadcasting, televising, photographing and recording of court proceedings](https://nmcourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Rule-23-107-12-20-2018.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### remote proceedings conduct

Scope: statewide

New Mexico Judiciary remote-proceedings standards treat virtual courtrooms as formal courtroom settings and impose conduct expectations for remote participants.

Evidence excerpt: The courtroom, whether a physical in-person courtroom, or a virtual courtroom, remains a formal and serious setting where judges hear matters involving real people that affect real lives.

[New Mexico Judiciary Remote Proceedings and Meeting Standards](https://firstdistrict.nmcourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/NEW-MEXICO-JUDICIARY-REMOTE-PROCEEDINGS-AND-MEETING-STANDARDS.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://coa.nmcourts.gov/about/judges)
- [Official roster](https://coa.nmcourts.gov/about/judges)
- [New Mexico Courts official judicial roster](https://coa.nmcourts.gov/about/judges)
- [Rule 23-107. Broadcasting, televising, photographing and recording of court proceedings](https://nmcourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Rule-23-107-12-20-2018.pdf)
- [New Mexico Judiciary Remote Proceedings and Meeting Standards](https://firstdistrict.nmcourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/NEW-MEXICO-JUDICIARY-REMOTE-PROCEEDINGS-AND-MEETING-STANDARDS.pdf)
- [coa.nmcourts.gov](https://coa.nmcourts.gov/about/judges/)

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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.
