County Probate Judge

Charlene Tsoodle-Marcus

Age:

Occupation: Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council, former program director;

Taos Tribal court, former judge; Taos County Adult Detention Center, former administrator; Taos County, former planner; Taos Pueblo, former coordinator; National Indian Justice Planning, former justice specialist; New Mexico Corrections Department, former manager, specialist, extradition officer and planner

Education: Criminal justice doctorate at North Central University, current student; University of Washington, legal training; Capella University, Master’s in criminal justice Political experience: Taos Pueblo Tribal Court judge

Political party: Democrat

Charged or convicted of a crime (more serious than a traffic ticket): No

Social media or website: None

74

Charlene Tsoodle-Marcus was one of six candidates who applied for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s appointment to a judge seat that opened in Taos Magistrate Court in 2020, a spot that ultimately went to Sara Blankenhorn. This year, TsoodleMarcus is running for another

judge position — one that would see her helping the public with wills and trusts, instead of criminal cases.

Nevertheless, she believes her extensive experience working in the court systems would make her a good fit for probate judge. “I’ve set up court systems before.

I’ve set up police departments. I’ve worked the whole criminal justice system — courts, corrections… everything.”

Tsoodle-Marcus — who was born in Lawton, Okla., but was raised in Taos — has experience serving as a judge for Taos Tribal Court, where she oversaw cases from 2008 to 2013. She said her knowledge of tribal law and jurisdiction would be relevant if she were elected probate judge.

She continues to be a lifelong learner, and is a current student pursuing her Doctorate in criminal justice from North Central University.

If elected, she said she would host workshops to help people better understand the process of setting up a will or a trust “so that people aren’t afraid of the system,” she said.

“It should be a normal thing,” she said. “We shouldn’t be afraid of it. We should be able to exercise our rights as citizens and be able to deal with it openly and carefully. That way, when death does come upon us, we will be ready. Our relatives and our inheritance will be taken care of, like we want it to.”