Governor appoints 3 to bench in Bernalillo County

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has appointed three attorneys to fill vacancies in one of the state's busiest courthouses.
The Democratic governor announced Monday that she has named Brittany Maldonado Malott, David Murphy and Felicia Blea-Rivera to the bench in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.
They are replacing Judge Sharon Walton, who retired, and judges Kenny Montoya and Edward Benavidez, who did not receive enough votes in the last election to retain their seats.
Lujan Grisham said in a statement that Maldonado Malott most recently worked as a public defender. Murphy, who also has a background as a public defender, is leaving the Bernalillo County district attorney's office to become a judge.
Blea-Rivera joins the court after serving as an attorney on behalf of counties for the New Mexico Association of Counties.