Jason Lidyard
AGE: 36
EDUCATION: Ohio University, B.A.; University of Maine School of Law, J.D.
OCCUPATION: District Judge, 1st Judicial District, Division V
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE: June
2004-July 2007, Colorado General Assembly, legal editor; MayAugust 2009, Prosecutor’s Office of Cleveland, Ohio, city prosecutor; September 2009-May 2010, District of Maine, federal public defender; April 2011-April 2018, First Judicial District Attorney’s Office of New Mexico, deputy district attorney.
WHY I’M RUNNING
I am running for District Judge of Division V of the First Judicial District Court because Division V handles all criminal cases in Rio Arriba and Los Alamos counties, and, as a deputy district Attorney in this jurisdiction for the past seven years, I know how important a capable, considerate and compassionate trial judge is to those cases and for this community.
I started my career at the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office prosecuting domestic violence and DWI cases in the Rio Arriba Magistrate Courts. After the better part of a year in that position, I was promoted to head the narcotics division of the Office. In that role, I was responsible for advising law enforcement agents in their investigations of drug traffickers throughout Santa Fe and the Española Valley, and for prosecuting all criminal cases arising from those investigations.
After three years working narcotics, I was assigned to prosecute sexual assault and child abuse cases occurring in Rio Arriba and Santa Fe counties. I served in that position for two years before my last assignment handling general felony cases. Over my career, I litigated over 30 cases before a jury and over 40 cases before a judge. From my experience in these positions, I am intimately familiar with the criminal matters that afflict our community, and my skills and experience as a criminal trial prosecutor lend significantly to my ability to preside over these criminal cases as a trial judge.
BACKGROUND QUESTIONS
1. Have you or your business — if you are a business owner — ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens? No.
2. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding? No.
3. Have you ever been arrested for, charged with or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony? At the age of 18 years old, I pled no contest to underage consumption of alcohol.