Daniel Gallegos

Daniel J. Gallegos
Judge of the New Mexico Court of Appeals
In office
January 2018 – December 2018
District Judge, Second Judicial District Court
In office
January 2019 - December 2020
Personal details
Born (1978-03-19) March 19, 1978
PartyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Notre Dame (BBA) University of New Mexico (MS) Notre Dame Law School (JD) Georgetown University Law Center (LLM)
Military service
Branch/serviceU.S. Navy
RankCommander

Daniel J. Gallegos (born March 19, 1978)[1] is an American attorney, a former judge on the New Mexico Court of Appeals in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a former district judge on the Second Judicial District Court in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.[1][2][3][4] He is a member of the Republican Party.[1][2]

Early life and education

Gallegos was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he graduated from St. Pius X High School (Albuquerque) in 1996.[2][3][4] Gallegos attended the University of Notre Dame and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 2000.[1][2][3][4] He then attended the University of New Mexico and earned a Master of Science in Physical Education degree in 2001.[1][2][3] He then attended Notre Dame Law School, where he earned a Juris Doctor degree cum laude in 2005.[2][3] In his third year of law school, Gallegos won the featherweight championship of Notre Dame's famous Bengal Bouts and was awarded the "Dan Adam Award" as the law school's best boxer.[2][3][5] In 2025, Gallegos graduated with distinction from Georgetown University Law Center with an L.L.M. in National Security Law.[3]

Career

Military service

After law school, Gallegos joined the United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps.[3][4][6] After graduating from the Naval Justice School with honors in 2005, he reported to Naval Air Station Jacksonville as a military prosecutor.[1][3] In 2007, Gallegos deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he served as a legal advisor with Multi-National Force – Iraq, Task Force 134.[1][2][3][4] In 2008, Gallegos reported as deputy command judge advocate on board USS Nimitz (CVN-68).[2][3]

In 2010, Gallegos left active duty and joined the United States Navy Reserve.[1][3] As a reserve Navy JAG, he variously served as an operational law attorney with the United States Third Fleet, United States Pacific Fleet, and the United States Sixth Fleet reserve legal offices.[3] He also served as staff judge advocate for SEAL Team 17 and for the Navy reserve component of United States Special Operations Command.[3][7] From 2014-2015, Gallegos mobilized to Joint Task Force Guantanamo, where he served as liaison to the International Committee of the Red Cross.[2][3]

From 2023-2025, Gallegos was mobilized to the Pentagon to serve as Senior Legal and Policy Advisor within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (SO/LIC), which falls under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.[3]

In January 2026, Gallegos was mobilized and detailed to the United States Department of Justice Executive Office of Immigration Review to serve as a Temporary Immigration Judge.[3]

Judge Daniel Gallegos in 2019

In 2010, Gallegos became a prosecutor with the 13th Judicial District Attorney's Office in Sandoval County, New Mexico.[1][2][3] In 2011, he became a prosecutor with the 2nd Judicial District Attorney's Office in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.[1][2][3] In 2013, he became a staff attorney at the New Mexico Court of Appeals in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[1][2][3] From 2015-2018, Gallegos served on the board of directors of the National Hispanic Cultural Center.[2][3] In 2021, Gallegos joined Harrison & Hart, LLC, as an attorney.[3][7]

Judicial service

In January 2018, Gallegos was appointed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals by Governor Susana Martinez.[8] He ran a statewide campaign to keep his seat on the court.[1][6][9] He was the subject of an attack ad paid for by New Mexico trial lawyers, portraying him as a puppet of Governor Martinez.[10] In response, Gallegos is quoted by The Santa Fe New Mexican as saying, “It is a disappointing turn of events, given that judicial elections in New Mexico, while nominally partisan, are supposed to be different“ and that "[t]his overt and rancorous appeal to partisanship is antithetical to the concept of judicial independence and the rule of law.”[10] Gallegos went on to lose to Democrat Megan Duffy, 54.5% to 45.5%, the closest statewide race in the 2018 New Mexico elections.[11][12]

In December 2018, Governor Martinez appointed Gallegos to the Second Judicial District Court in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, where he presided over felony criminal cases.[2][13] In November 2020, he lost a partisan countywide election to Democrat Courtney Weaks, 56.2% to 43.8%.[12][14] His 43.8% was the best performance of any Republican in Bernalillo County in the 2020 New Mexico elections.[15]

In January 2026, Gallegos was mobilized by the U.S. Navy and detailed to the United States Department of Justice Executive Office of Immigration Review to serve as a Temporary Immigration Judge.[3]

Family

His father, Danny Gallegos, is a retired firefighter with Albuquerque Fire Rescue and his mother, Connie Gallegos, retired from the Albuquerque Public Schools.[6] His brother, Dominic Gallegos, is a Captain with Albuquerque Fire Rescue.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Mexican, The New (11 October 2018). "Court of Appeals candidate biographies". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Q&A: 2nd Judicial District Court Candidate Daniel J. Gallegos - Albuquerque Journal". www.abqjournal.com. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 "Daniel Gallegos". LinkedIn.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Reflection". YouTube. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  5. ↑ "BENGAL BOUTS: Champions crowned Saturday // The Observer". The Observer. 2005-11-30. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  6. 1 2 3 "Judge Daniel Gallegos "What's Right"". YouTube. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  7. 1 2 "Our Team".
  8. ↑ "2 appointments by Martinez fill Court of Appeals vacancies". AP News. 2018-01-20. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  9. ↑ "Electing Judges To The New Mexico Court Of Appeals". New Mexico In Focus. 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  10. 1 2 By, Andrew Oxford | (19 October 2018). "PAC portrays New Mexico judges as Martinez puppets". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  11. ↑ "New Mexico Secretary of State". electionresults.sos.state.nm.us. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  12. 1 2 "Daniel Gallegos". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  13. ↑ "Departing N.M. governor makes judicial appointment". Santa Fe New Mexican. Associated Press. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  14. ↑ "New Mexico Secretary of State". electionresults.sos.state.nm.us. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  15. ↑ "New Mexico Secretary of State". electionresults.sos.state.nm.us. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  16. ↑ "Mayor Richard J. Berry, City of Albuquerque News Conference 5-20-16". YouTube. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
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