--- title: "Kevin R. Sweazea | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kevin-r-sweazea-new-mexico-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Kevin R. Sweazea U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico - State: New Mexico - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Nominated for a federal district-judge seat in 2019, but the nomination was withdrawn and did not result in appointment to that office - United States Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, appointed on May 3, 2017 for an eight‐year renewable term - ’s cited overview reports federal magistrate service beginning in 2017 after state service on New Mexico’s Seventh Judicial District Court from 2001 to 2017, among them ten years as chief judge. - District Judge, State of New Mexico - Seventh Judicial District, 2001-02–2016 - Chief Judge, State of New Mexico - Seventh Judicial District, 2005–2015 ### Education - It records a Bachelor of Accountancy from New Mexico State University and a J.D. from Baylor University, earlier litigation, regulatory, and transactional practice, and service on the Environmental Improvement Board and Socorro County Land Use Commission. ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, D. New Mexico, 2017-present - Appointed by Governor Gary Johnson in 2001; retained in 2002, 2008, and 2014 elections; held the role of Chief Judge for ten years - Practitioner, 1988-10–2001-02 - Date of birth: 1963 - Birth place: McIntosh ## 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.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=110) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=110) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=110) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9401/kevin-r-sweazea/) - [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/9401/kevin-r-sweazea/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Kevin R. Sweazea](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [Wikidata: Kevin R. Sweazea](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q64745055) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9401/kevin-r-sweazea/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Kevin R. Sweazea](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [Wikidata: Kevin R. Sweazea](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q64745055) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kevin-r-sweazea-new-mexico-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kevin-r-sweazea-new-mexico-us-magistrate", "name": "Kevin R. Sweazea | KnowJudges", "description": "Kevin R. Sweazea, 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-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.