December 2012
December 4, 2012 - Spotlight on Justice Patricio M. Serna (Hughes Chapter)
On August 31, 2012, District V announced the retirement of Justice Patricio M. Serna (Hughes Chapter) from the New Mexico Supreme Court after almost 16 years of service.
Justice Serna, a small town native of Reserve, NM, has served on the Supreme Court since 1996. He served as Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court and appointed as a District Court Judge to the First Judicial District in Santa Fe serving from 1985 until 1996. During his 11 years of service, he served a term as President of the New Mexico District Judges Association and a term as Chief Judge. Between 2001 and 2002, Justice Serna was elected by his colleagues to serve as Chief Justice. He is also a former President/Moderator of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts. Some of his awards and honors include the Hispanic Business Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Hispanics in America, Judge of the Year Award from the National Hispanic Bar Association, and the Outstanding Lawyer Award from the New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association. In 2011 he was awarded the Hispanic Native Institute’s “Hispanic Hero” award.
As the first in his family to attend college, he earned his B.S. degree in Business Administration from the College of St. Joseph on the Rio Grande, a J.D. from the University of Denver School of Law, a Masters degree from Harvard Law School, and an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Denver School of Law. Justice Serna was initiated into the Fraternity in June of 1968 and graduated two years later from University of Denver School of Law. After earning his degree from Harvard, he moved to D.C. to become special assistant to Commissioner R. Telles of the Equal Opportunity Commission and also taught constitutional law as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law School and Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Former Justice Patricio M. Serna says, “The time has come for me to move on to the next chapter of my life, my new season.” As the pages turn, he will always be remembered for his service, integrity and his passion for law. We wish him well in his retirement.
