Hon. Steven E. Blankinship is a judge for the 12th Judicial District Court of New Mexico in Otero County. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor Susana Martinez on September 1, 2017, filling the vacancy created by the appointment of the Hon. Jerry H. Ritter, Jr. to the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico.
The 12th Judicial District includes Otero and Lincoln Counties.
Prior to his appointment, Blankinship worked for five years as general counsel in the Office of Governor Susana Martinez (2012 to 2017). Before that, he was a deputy district attorney for the 12th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Alamogordo (2007 to 2009) and an assistant district attorney with the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office (2009 to 2012).
Blankinship received a bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University in 2001. He went on to complete a J.D. at the University of Akron School of Law in 2004. Blankinship was admitted to practice in New Mexico, the District of Columbia, and Arizona (2013).
He has taught courses on Tax and Revenue, AODA, and LEO academies and assisted the 12th Judicial District Court Pro Bono services.
Blankinship was named Prosecutor of the Year for the 3rd Judicial District in 2010.