--- title: "Kea Whetzal Riggs | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kea-whetzal-riggs" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Kea Whetzal Riggs U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico - State: New Mexico - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, Fifth Judicial District Court of New Mexico (2014–2019), appointed by Governor Susana Martinez - U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico (2001–2014) - Adjunct professor, Eastern New Mexico University--Roswell, 2001-2002, 2008-2009, 2012-2014 - Adjunct professor, New Mexico Highlands University--Roswell, 2006-2009, 2011 - Senior trial prosecutor, Fifth Judicial District, State of New Mexico, 1994-1999 - Assistant district attorney, Third Judicial District, State of New Mexico, 1991-1993 - Kea Lynn Whetzal Riggs (née Whetzal, born 1965 in Midwest City, Oklahoma) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico ### Education - University of Oklahoma College of Law — J.D. (1990) - University of Oklahoma — B.A. (1987) ### Additional information - Sworn in by Senior Judge Bobby Baldock on December 31, 2019 - Special master and mediator (part-time), self-employed, Roswell, New Mexico, 2006-2012 - Private practice, Roswell, New Mexico, 1999-2004 - Children's court attorney, Children, Youth and Families Department, State of New Mexico, 1993-1994 - Private practice, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 1990-1991 - Date of birth: 1965 - Served in both state and federal judicial roles before her current appointment - Birth place: Midwest City ## 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 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/7545461) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/7545461) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/7545461) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [Judge Kea Whetzal Riggs](https://www.fjc.gov/node/7545461) - [Wikidata: Kea W. Riggs](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q63456667) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kea-whetzal-riggs", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kea-whetzal-riggs", "name": "Kea Whetzal Riggs | KnowJudges", "description": "Kea Whetzal Riggs, U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.