As a dedicated public servant, Justice Briana Zamora has served at all levels of the
judiciary. She began her judicial career when she was appointed to the Metropolitan
Court bench in 2008. Four years later, she was elected to the Bernalillo County District
Court. As a trial judge, she spent a decade presiding almost exclusively over adult
criminal cases. She also presided over various treatment courts, including Homeless
Court, the Native American Healing to Wellness Court and the Courts to School
program. In 2018, she was elected to the Court of Appeals where she authored opinions
in all areas of the law. Justice Zamora was then appointed to the New Mexico Supreme
Court after being nominated by a bi-partisan Judicial Nominating Commission.
As a Justice, she is the liaison to several commissions, including the Children’s Court
Improvement Commission, the Children’s Court Judges Association, the Tribal-State
Judicial Consortium and the Commission on Mental Health and Competency. She
serves on the Executive Board for the American Bar Association’s Appellate Judges
Conference. In 2023, she was selected as a Council of State Governments’ Henry Toll
Fellow. 
Prior to taking the bench, Justice Zamora worked as a litigator for the State of New
Mexico in several capacities. Then, she was recruited to join the law firm of Butt,
Thornton & Baehr as an attorney litigating a broad range of civil cases, including
workers compensation, insurance coverage and personal injury. Prior to being
appointed to the bench, she founded the Zamora Law Firm where she managed the law
firm and litigated criminal and civil cases. She also represented abused and neglected
children as their guardian ad litem.
Justice Zamora was born, raised, and educated in New Mexico and she is now raising
her children in Albuquerque. She is a graduate of New Mexico State University where
she received degrees in Government and Psychology. She graduated in 2000 from the
University of New Mexico School of Law. She was the recipient of the Frederick M. Hart
Award in Commercial Law and recognized for Honors in Clinical Law.