--- title: "Martha Alicia Vázquez | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/martha-a-vazquez" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Martha Alicia Vázquez U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico - State: New Mexico - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, D. New Mexico, 1993-present - After a brief clerkship with Michigan Migrant Legal Services, she held the role of an assistant public defender in New Mexico (1979–1981) and then practiced private law in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from 1981 until her judicial appointment - Senior United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico, and the first woman appointed as a federal district judge in that state - She has been featured in Notre Dame Lawyer Magazine and in the book Better Judgment, which highlights her and other judges’ contributions to justice ### Education - University of Notre Dame — J.D. (1978) - University of Notre Dame — B.A. (1975) ### Additional information - Clerk, Michigan Migrant Legal Services, 1979-present - 2003–2010 (Chief Judge). - Private practice, Santa Fe, NM, 1981-1993 - Assistant public defender, State of New Mexico, 1979-1981 - Born February 21, 1953, in Santa Barbara, California. - Date of birth: 1953-01-01 - Vázquez was born into a close-knit Mexican immigrant family - She remains active in the Notre Dame Law School community - Birth place: Santa Barbara, CA ## 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 ### presentation procedure Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt:  Counsel must have all exhibits immediately available and in the proper order when questioning a witness. Counsel is encouraged to use the ELMO system to present exhibits to a witness. If counsel does not use the ELMO system, then he or she must have marked copies of each exhibit available for the witness to… [Judge%20Vazquez%20Preparation%20for%20Criminal%20Trials.pdf](https://www.nmd.uscourts.gov/sites/nmd/files/Judge%20Vazquez%20Preparation%20for%20Criminal%20Trials.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: g To the extent possible, counsel is encouraged to use the ELMO equipment in the courtroom for the presentation of exhibits. The ELMO system allows witnesses to mark exhibits while discussing them. The ELMO system also enables counsel to print copies of the marked exhibits to deliver to the jury during its deliberation. [Microsoft Word - Civil Trial Prep.MV.docx](https://www.nmd.uscourts.gov/sites/nmd/files/Judge%20Vazquez%20Preparation%20for%20Civil%20Trials.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: To the extent possible, counsel is encouraged to use the ELMO equipment in the courtroom for the presentation of exhibits. The ELMO system allows witnesses to mark exhibits while discussing them. The ELMO system also enables counsel to print copies of the marked exhibits to deliver to the jury during its deliberation. [Judge%20Vazquez%20Preparation%20for%20Civil%20Trials.docx](https://www.nmd.uscourts.gov/sites/nmd/files/Judge%20Vazquez%20Preparation%20for%20Civil%20Trials.docx) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### 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/1389151) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1389151) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1389151) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3316/martha-alicia-vazquez/) - [Judge%20Vazquez%20Preparation%20for%20Criminal%20Trials.pdf](https://www.nmd.uscourts.gov/sites/nmd/files/Judge%20Vazquez%20Preparation%20for%20Criminal%20Trials.pdf) - [Microsoft Word - Civil Trial Prep.MV.docx](https://www.nmd.uscourts.gov/sites/nmd/files/Judge%20Vazquez%20Preparation%20for%20Civil%20Trials.pdf) - [Judge%20Vazquez%20Preparation%20for%20Civil%20Trials.docx](https://www.nmd.uscourts.gov/sites/nmd/files/Judge%20Vazquez%20Preparation%20for%20Civil%20Trials.docx) - [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/3316/martha-alicia-vazquez/) - [Wikidata: Martha Vázquez](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16185644) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/martha-a-vazquez", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/martha-a-vazquez", "name": "Martha Alicia Vázquez | KnowJudges", "description": "Martha Alicia Vázquez, 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.