New Mexico First Judicial District Court, Division VII
Background T. Glenn Ellington is a district court judge in Division VII (Criminal Court) of the New Mexico First Judicial District. The district covers Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, and Santa Fe counties.
Education He earned a bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University in 1984 and a Juris Doctor from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1988. He also received a certificate in general jurisdiction from the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada, in 1997.
Prior Experience Ellington began his legal career as a public defender from 1990 to 1997. He served as a district judge from 1997 to 2000, briefly as a New Mexico Court of Appeals judge in 2000, and as Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department from 2001 to 2002. From 2003 to 2010 he was in private practice.
Appointment & Current Role A Democrat, Ellington was elected to his current position in 2010 after defeating incumbent David Thompson in the Democratic primary with 55 percent of the vote and running unopposed in the general election.
Judicial performance evaluations from the New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission in 2014 and 2020 recommended retention. Attorneys rated him highly for knowledge of law, control over proceedings, and timely rulings, though some noted concerns about demeanor and staff professionalism.
He has presided over several cases that received public attention:
- In State v. Dianna Duran (2015), he sentenced the former New Mexico Secretary of State to 30 days in jail with work release, probation, community service, and restitution after she pleaded guilty to embezzlement and money laundering.
- In State v. Wagner (2015), he removed himself from a murder case after making a comment to a prosecutor that the case might be “above [his] pay grade,” which led to media scrutiny and his recusal.
- In In re Mallory (2018), he ordered the return of seized phones and computers in a child pornography investigation after explicit photos were deleted.
- In an earlier term, he presided over Public Service Co. of New Mexico v. Lyons (2000), a case involving utility easements that was partially affirmed on appeal.
- In State v. David Hyams (2022), he presided over a criminal trial whose conviction was affirmed on appeal.
- In 2022 he dismissed a petition seeking to remove Republican Attorney General candidate Jeremy Gay from the ballot over residency issues.
- In 2025 he commented publicly on a new New Mexico Supreme Court rule that imposes strict deadlines on criminal cases in the First Judicial District to address backlogs, noting potential sanctions such as case dismissals for non-compliance.
Election Status He was retained by voters in nonpartisan elections in 2014 (with 82 percent approval) and 2020. His current term ends on December 31, 2026.
