SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday announced the appointment of Stephen Ochoa to fill a vacancy on the Twelfth Judicial District Court.

Ochoa, 37, managed the public defender’s office in Ruidoso since 2017. Before his time in Ruidoso, he was the Assistant District Attorney for the Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Alamogordo from 2015 until 2017.

Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Ochoa is a graduate of Carlsbad High School and the University of New Mexico. He graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2012 and was admitted to the state bar the same year.

He will be installed on July 22 and replaces the Honorable Steven Blankinship who retired on May 13.

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