Maurine Laney is announcing her bid for re-election to the office of Magistrate Judge Grant Division 1 in Silver City. She is currently running unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Judge Laney began her career in the Magistrate Court in 1992 as a Court Clerk and worked her way up through the ranks to become Court Manager in 2004 where she remained until her election to office in 2011.  With more than 20 years of experience, she has held every position offered in the Magistrate Court including Court Clerk I & II, DWI Clerk, Judicial Specialist, Warrant Enforcement Assistant, Court Manager, and finally Magistrate Judge.   Her extensive knowledge of the inner workings of the court, coupled with her working knowledge of the state statutes and judicial rules of procedure, has made her a strong asset to the magistrate court.

Throughout her first term in office, Judge Laney has continued her education by attending numerous trainings, workshops, and courses offered by the Judicial Education Center of New Mexico and the National Judicial College.  During her first year in office, she was elected to the New Mexico Magistrate Judges Association Board of Directors and has served on the board for the past 3 years.  Judge Laney was selected to be a member of the Judicial Education Center’s training team in 2011 and has taught a number of courses, covering such topics as Advanced Civil Case Procedures, Landlord Tenant Issues, Handling Domestic Violence Cases, and will be teaching on a number of topics at the upcoming 2014 Magistrate Judges Conference and New Judges Training in December. 

Since taking office in 2011, Judge Laney has been appointed by the Supreme Court of New Mexico to sit on the New Mexico Judicial Employees' Rules Committee and the Odyssey Judge’s User Group Committee, which establishes and develops court procedures in conjunction with the statewide automated case management system.  She also sits on the New Mexico Magistrate Judges Conference Planning Committee.  Locally, Judge Laney has worked closely with Grant County to help develop and implement an Inmate GPS Surveillance Program, as well as expanding the Grant County DWI Compliance Program to include other Misdemeanor cases such as drug related offenses and domestic violence offenses.  These two programs are funded by the county and offer all local judges more options when sentencing defendants and setting bonds.

Judge Maurine Laney is a firm believer that the Magistrate Court is the “People’s Court”.   Laney has said, “I believe that a good judge must have a strong sense of ethics, conduct themselves with integrity, and be accessible to the people.  A good judge is a public servant who must treat everyone coming before them with dignity and respect.  A good judge must base his or her decision on the evidence presented in court, applied with knowledge of the law, and based always in fairness and the administration of justice.   If re-elected, I intend to continue to serve the citizens of Grant County, striving always to achieve the embodiment of the qualities mentioned above.”

Judge Laney is a lifelong resident of Grant County, born and raised in Bayard by her parents, Dickie and “Bitty” Benjamin.  She currently resides in Silver City with Vern Laney, her husband of 22 years, and their 2 children, Garrett and Shelby.  Laney is an active member of the community, member of the Grant County Community Health Council, Grant County Youth Advisory Committee, Yucca Lodge Advisory Board, Silver City Kiwanis Club, and avid supporter of youth sports in Grant County.