Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has appointed Kristopher Nicolas Houghton to the New Mexico Court of Appeals. The appointment comes after the resignation of Judge Kristina Bogardus and will take effect on August 16, lasting until the next general election as required by state law.
Houghton is currently an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico. He previously held the role of Chief of the Criminal Division from July 2022 to May 2025. In addition, he led the Office of the Judicial Attache in Bogotá, Colombia, overseeing narcotics and dangerous drug cases for the U.S. Department of Justice, where he managed what is described as “the busiest extradition practice in the world.”
A graduate of the University of New Mexico School of Law, Houghton was admitted to practice law in New Mexico in 2008. Before his federal work, he served as a judicial law clerk for both the New Mexico Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
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