About Tom Montoya

 
Tom kneeling with his two dogs in front of a tractor. Both dogs are also smiling at the camera. An impressive feat. Tom Montoya for New Mexico Supreme Court Position 1.

Dear Voter,

Thank you for your interest.

I respectfully ask for your vote for me, Thomas Montoya, for Justice of The New Mexico Supreme Court Position 1 on the November 8th ballot.

Vote for Thomas C Montoya for New Mexico Supreme Court Position 1 One Ballot Check Vote

I am well qualified to serve on the Supreme Court. My qualifications are on a separate page, which I hope you will take a few minutes to review.

New Mexico Supreme Court Building - taken by Tom Montoya. Vote for Thomas Montoya New Mexico Supreme Court Position 1 NM

But who am I as a person? Why am I running for the Supreme Court?

I was born and raised in Alameda, New Mexico, an unincorporated town in the County of Bernalillo, just north of Albuquerque.

My family roots are deeply and firmly planted in New Mexico, where my ancestors have lived for over 400 years.

I come from a family of six children, my parents were never divorced, and from them, we learned devotion to God, family, honest and hard work, respect, and strong personal responsibility, to which values I continue to adhere.

Thomas Montoya's statuette of Lady Justice. The scales are perfectly even. Tom Montoya for New Mexico Supreme Court Position 1

Why do I want to serve on the Supreme Court?

I have been blessed with a very good job, which I love.

Our children are grown, and they have their own homes, and we are all blessed with provisions. It is not for honor or esteem. I firmly believe that such glory belongs to God.

As you can see from my remaining in the same work for 41 years, I am devoted to families and the problems so many people and children have with their families. I have written, lobbied, and obtained sponsors for over 30 statutory enactments in family law to address solutions to those problems.

Two hands shaking, as if coming to a mutual agreement. Vote for Thomas Montoya New Mexico Supreme Court Position 1 NM

For most people, their only interaction with the legal system, or that of their family or friends, is in the area of family law.

To my knowledge, there have been very few appellate judges with a substantial background in family law. With my abilities and experience, I can help many more families with their problems on the Supreme Court than I can with my individual clients, or with the many appeals I have handled.

But there is a main reason I am running for the Supreme Court. At its best, the law is regarded as the sovereign in our country and state, leading to the well-known aphorism that “no one is above the law”. At the heart of the law is righteousness, which includes justice, fairness, equity, and equality, but righteousness is much more than these.

I have been married once for 35 years, we have two children, both of whom my wife homeschooled. One of our children is a lawyer, an entrepreneur, and owns businesses, and the other is also a lawyer working for the federal government. I credit my wife with our children’s successes. I love them all dearly.

I had a large number of jobs before becoming a lawyer, including pulling weeds, dishwasher, busboy, warehouse helper, tour guide, bus driver, dispatcher, and paralegal. While in law school in Los Angeles, I drove a cab for three years because I didn’t have a car. I know what it is like not to have money.

I returned to beautiful New Mexico in 1981 and have worked over 41 years at the same law firm, Atkinson & Kelsey, P.A., a family law firm. I began as a law clerk, then an associate, then a partner, and now as a senior partner. My practice has been devoted to the field of domestic relations, or family law, which covers a vast and very wide variety of all the civil laws which arise during relationships.

Righteousness is the spirit of the law, which rejoices when goodness triumphs, and grieves when wrongness is not remedied. I want what is right under our Constitution and our laws to govern in our country and our beautiful state.

That is why I want to be on the Supreme Court, and I respectfully and humbly ask for your vote to give me that opportunity.

More About Tom Montoya

  • Tom Montoya is an attorney and shareholder with Atkinson & Kelsey, P.A. practicing divorce and family law for over 41 years.

  • Tom was born and raised in Alameda, New Mexico, just north of Albuquerque. Tom received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California.

  • Tom has lobbied and testified over 30 times regarding legislative enactments in family law and also drafted significant enacted family law legislation.

  • Tom has an “AV” preeminent rating (the highest) from Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings, he has been named in Southwest Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers In America and Best of the Bar for Family Law by New Mexico Business Weekly.

  • Tom is a 23 year member of the American Law Institute, the prestigious national organization composed of judges, law professors and lawyers, who for over 100 years has promulgated treatises that articulate and clarify the principles or rules of virtually every branch of the law, for use by appellate courts, judges, law schools and students of the law across the nation.

  • Tom has served as Co-Chair of the Child Support Guidelines Commission responsible for promulgation of New Mexico’s statutory Child Support Guidelines, and Tom served as Chair of the Supreme Court committee, which promulgated statewide rules of procedure for domestic relations and domestic violence cases.

  • Tom has served on the Judicial Selection Nominating Commission which selects judges for appointment by the Governor.

  • Tom has been appellate counsel in 12 reported cases, his work has been cited as authority in 3 appellate cases, and he has been faculty in over 60 Family Law seminars.

  • Tom has been selected as qualified to be District Court Judge three times by the Second Judicial District Judicial Selection Nominating Commission.

  • Tom understands crime victims from his 8 years of service on the Crime Victims Reparation Commission.

See Tom's Full Resume Here!