Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has appointed longtime Albuquerque attorney Richard J. Moran to Division VI of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, succeeding recently retired Judge Maria I. Dominguez.

Judge Moran will serve in the Court’s Civil Division, where he will preside over small claims matters.

“Judge Moran’s extensive legal experience, including work in civil litigation and criminal defense, will be an asset as he joins the Metropolitan Court and presides over one of busiest civil dockets in the state,” said Chief Judge of the Metropolitan Court Joshua J. Sánchez.

For the past 16 years, Judge Moran worked in private practice at Ahmad Assed & Associates, specializing in criminal defense, civil, and personal injury law. Previously, he served as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Albuquerque with the Safe City Strike Force. In that role, he served as a special prosecutor in the Traffic Arraignment Program at the Metropolitan Court, where he supervised a team of paralegals and negotiated more than 1,000 plea agreements.

Judge Moran served on the New Mexico Supreme Court’s Rules of Professional Conduct Committee and as Treasurer for the Criminal Law Section of the New Mexico State Bar. He is a member of the H. Verle Payne Inn of Court.

Born in Silver City, Judge Moran graduated magna cum laude from the University of New Mexico in 2000 with a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Professional Writing. In 2004, Judge Moran graduated with Clinical Honors and the Wall Street Journal Award for Excellence in Business Law from the UNM School of Law with his Juris Doctor.

“I am honored to serve the people of Bernalillo County and to give back to the community that has been home to me for many years,” said Judge Moran.