---
title: "Lori Gibson Willard | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lori-gibson-willard-district-court-judge-twelfth-judicial-district-court-nm"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Lori Gibson Willard

Twelfth Judicial District Court · District Court Judge

## Profile

- Court: Twelfth Judicial District Court
- State: New Mexico
- Role: District Court Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-26

## Summary

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

## Biography

### Professional career

- Her first legal position involved domestic-violence prosecution for the Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office

### Education

- Oklahoma City University — J.D.
- A Lincoln County native raised in Carrizozo, she obtained a New Mexico State University B.S. in regular and special education and taught in Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces.

### Additional information

- District service began May 10, 2025.
- May 10, 2025, by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (Appointed).
- Appointed on May10,2025 to DivisionII of New Mexico’s Twelfth Judicial District Court, and there she handles general civil and family matters.
- Lori Gibson Willard also appears in legal directories as an attorney with over 20 years of experience in family/domestic relations and real property/landlord‐tenant law
- She later earned her law degree at Oklahoma City University.
- She subsequently opened a Ruidoso practice focused on family law within general litigation, practicing for nearly21 years before the bench.
- A native of Lincoln County, born and raised in Carrizozo, New Mexico (Background).

## 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://twelfthdistrict.nmcourts.gov/about-this-district/judges)
- [Official roster](https://twelfthdistrict.nmcourts.gov/about-this-district/judges)
- [New Mexico Courts official judicial roster](https://twelfthdistrict.nmcourts.gov/about-this-district/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)
- [twelfthdistrict.nmcourts.gov](https://twelfthdistrict.nmcourts.gov/about-this-district/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.
