New Mexico First Judicial District Court, Division VIII
Background Anastasia Rose Martin is a judge on the New Mexico First Judicial District Court, which covers Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, and Santa Fe counties. She serves in Division VIII and handles civil and adult criminal cases.
Education She graduated from Adams State College and earned her Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law in 2011.
Prior Experience Martin began her legal career in the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office. She rose to Chief Deputy District Attorney for Rio Arriba County and served in that role for nearly a decade. She handled criminal cases that included homicide, sexual assault, child abuse, violent crimes, domestic violence, property crimes, and DWI.
She was named Prosecutor of the Year for the First Judicial District in 2015 and 2019, and for northern New Mexico in 2020.
Before her judicial appointment, she served more than four years as General Counsel to the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department. In that position she advised the Cabinet Secretary, provided legal services, and led legislative policy initiatives.
Appointment & Current Role A Democrat, she was appointed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on June 17, 2025 to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer.
- In November 2025 she dismissed charges against defendants Quintana and Herrera in a burglary case.
- On November 17, 2025, she issued a nationwide bench warrant for a defendant who failed to appear for a hearing.
- She is also presiding over the case of two 15-year-old boys charged with first-degree murder and related offenses in the death of Monica Carter; the defendants have been held without bond and the case remains ongoing.
Election Status Martin must run in the general election of November 2026 to retain her seat. Her campaign is pursuing public financing through small donations.
Sources / Links:
- Keep Judge Gunderson campaign site: https://keepjudgegunderson.com/
- Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Andrea_Gunderson
- Governor’s Appointment Announcement: https://www.governor.state.nm.us/2025/03/14/governor-announces-two-judicial-appointments-2/
- Source New Mexico: https://sourcenm.com/briefs/governor-appoints-two-judges-to-bernalillo-county-metropolitan-court/
- NM Courts Metropolitan Judges: https://metro.nmcourts.gov/about-this-court/judges/




















































