Hon. R. David Pederson is a judge for the 11th Judicial District Court of New Mexico in McKinley County. He was appointed to the bench by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on April 24, 2020.
The 11th Judicial District includes McKinley and San Juan Counties.
Prior to joining the bench, Pederson was the chief deputy district attorney with the 11th Judicial District in McKinley County, having served in that capacity since 2017. Before that, he was a deputy district attorney with the 13th Judicial District (2015 to 2017).
Over the course of his legal career, Pederson also served as an associate at Schuelke, Wolf & Rich (1978 to 1981); bank counsel and a trust officer for the First Interstate Bank of Gallup (1981 to 1984); a sole practitioner in his own private practice (1984 to 1985); and chief deputy district attorney in McKinley County (1984 to 1987)
In the political arena, he served as a state representative for District 5. As such, Pederson was chair of the House Judiciary and Rules Committees.
He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico in 1975. Pederson went on to complete a J.D. at the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1978. He was admitted to practice in New Mexico (1980) and the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico (1980).
His memberships have included the Zuni Pueblo Tribal Bar, the American Bar Association, the International Municipal Lawyers Association, and the McKinley County Bar Association. Pederson also sat as a member of the New Mexico Council on Crime and Delinquency Board, the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association Board, the District Court Rules of Criminal Procedure Supreme Court Court Committee, and the 11th Judicial District Judicial Selection Commission.
From a civic standpoint, he has been involved with the Gallup Country Club, the Gallup Optimist Club, and the McKinley County Democratic Party (past chair).
Pederson is also a past elder of Trinity Lutheran Church in Gallup.
He was born and raised in Gallup, New Mexico, where he attended Gallup High School. Pederson and his wife, Jamie Gene, have two grown children.