New Mexico Twelfth Judicial District Court, Division IV
Background Angie K. Schneider is a district court judge in Division IV of the New Mexico Twelfth Judicial District Court and serves as Chief Judge of the entire district. She presides over general jurisdiction cases including criminal, civil, family, and domestic matters. Her primary chambers are in Alamogordo, Otero County. She is the first woman to serve as Chief Judge of the Twelfth Judicial District.
Education She graduated from the University of New Mexico and received her J.D. from the UNM School of Law in 2001.
Prior Experience Prior to her appointment, Schneider maintained a private law practice under the name Law Offices of Angie K. Schneider.
Appointment & Current Role A Democrat, she was appointed to the bench in July 2013 by Governor Susana Martinez.
She has presided over pretrial hearings in State v. Jacob Diaz-Austin, a first-degree murder case against a former Otero County Sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed 17-year-old Elijah Hadley during a welfare check. Key rulings include finding probable cause to proceed to trial in March 2025, denying a change of venue, limiting terminology for a replica weapon to neutral terms such as “pellet gun,” and excluding the victim’s toxicology report as irrelevant and prejudicial. Multiple pretrial motion hearings have continued into 2026, and the case has drawn significant local and regional media attention.
Election Status She has been retained by voters in multiple nonpartisan retention elections. Her current term expires on December 31, 2026.
Sources / Links:
- Twelfth Judicial District Court Judges: https://twelfthdistrict.nmcourts.gov/about-this-district/judges/
- 2nd Life Media Alamogordo (detailed pretrial coverage): Multiple articles (2025–2026)
- KVIA / ABQ Journal: Probable cause and trial proceedings (March 2025)
- NM JPEC 2020 Evaluation: https://nmjpec.org/en/judge-evaluation?election_id=463&year=2020
- Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Angie_Schneider




















































