--- title: "Kenneth John Gonzales | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kenneth-john-gonzales" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Kenneth John Gonzales U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico · Chief U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico - State: New Mexico - Role: Chief U.S. District 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, District Court, D. New Mexico, 2013-present - Appointed United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico — 2010–2013, serving as the top federal law enforcement official in the state - Concurrently, he has served in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps, attaining the rank of Major, and has been an adjunct professor of criminal law at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School On November 14, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Gonzales to the federal bench to fill the seat vacated by Judge Bruce D. Black - Following law school, he clerked for Chief Justice Joseph F. Baca of the New Mexico Supreme Court from 1994 to 1996 and then held the role of a legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman from 1996 to 1999 Gonzales began his federal career as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico from 1999 to 2010 - Law clerk, Hon. Joseph F. Baca, New Mexico Supreme Court, 1994-1996 ### Education - University of New Mexico School of Law — J.D. (1994) - University of New Mexico-Main Campus — B.A. (1988) ### Additional information - U.S. Army Reserve, 2001-present - U.S. Army major, 2008-2009 - Jeff Bingaman, NM, 1996-1999 - Kenneth John Gonzales was born on October 26, 1964, in Española, New Mexico, and grew up in Nambe, graduating from Pojoaque High School - Date of birth: 1964-01-01 - handling a wide range of criminal and civil cases - Legislative assistant, U.S. Sen - Birth place: Espanola, NM ## 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/1394246) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394246) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394246) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1233/kenneth-john-gonzales/) - [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) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1233/kenneth-john-gonzales/) - [Wikidata: Kenneth J. Gonzales](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6390273) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kenneth-john-gonzales", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kenneth-john-gonzales", "name": "Kenneth John Gonzales | KnowJudges", "description": "Kenneth John Gonzales, 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.