.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Last week, President Joe Biden nominated 11 people for judicial posts, including Las Cruces civil rights and defense attorney Margaret Strickland to fill the judgeship in Las Cruces that has been vacant for more than 30 months. It’s an important, if expected, move to finally get the wheels of federal justice moving in New Mexico. The last time the U.S. Senate confirmed a federal judge for the District of New Mexico was pre-pandemic – in December 2019, state District Judge Kea Riggs of Roswell filled one of three judicial vacancies in the District of New Mexico. Since then, pure partisan politics have delayed new confirmations and slowed the administration of justice in one of the busiest federal district courts in the nation.