About Judge Kris Houghton

Judge Kris Houghton was appointed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals in August 2025 by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, after being recommended by the Bi-Partisan Judicial Nominating Commission. He replaces Judge Kris Bogardus who retired. Kris must now run in the 2026 election to keep his seat on the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

Prior to being appointed to the NM Court of Appeals, Kris served our community from 2012-2025 in the Department of Justice at the United States Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque. Kris began as a law clerk, became an Assistant US Attorney in the Criminal Division, was selected to serve overseas as DOJ’s Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia, and then returned to New Mexico as the US Attorney’s Chief of the Criminal Division in Albuquerque. He finished his time at the US Attorney’s Office as an Assistant US Attorney in the Civil Division.

As Chief of the Criminal Division, Kris oversaw approximately 50 attorneys and 20 staff members and supervised all federal criminal investigations and prosecutions for the northern two-thirds of New Mexico, as well as extraterritorial crimes in foreign countries. From 2020 to 2022, Kris led the Office of the Judicial Attaché under the direction of DOJ’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, managing the busiest extradition practice in the world. Kris advised prosecutors and agents on hundreds of US-Colombia bilateral investigations and served as the DOJ’s lead diplomat in Colombia. Under his leadership, his team completed over 300 extraditions from Colombia to courts across the United States. In addition, his career at the DOJ included prosecuting a wide range of federal crimes, including child pornography, child molestation, rapes, murders, domestic violence, firearms crimes, public corruption, and organized crime. He is particularly proud of his efforts to collaborate with pueblo and tribal leaders across the state, including the successful prosecution of a transnational conspiracy to manufacture and sell fake Indian jewelry across the United States.

Kris began his legal career clerking for NM Supreme Court Justice Charles Daniels and later for Court of Appeals Judge Miles Hanisee. Kris is a Captain in the US Air Force Inactive Ready Reserve and was previously a Captain in the US Air Force Reserves. He was commissioned as an officer in the US Air Force JAG Corps and served as an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate for the Air Force Legal Operations Agency at Joint Base Andrews, the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, and the 377th Air Base Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base.

Kris received his law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law, where he received the Dean’s Award for Significant Contribution to the Law School Community and was on the Dean’s List and Honor Roll.

Kris is married to María Montoya who is an OB/Gyn and attending physician at the University of New Mexico Hospital. They are raising their three children in Albuquerque’s North Valley and stay busy with the children’s cross country, football, jujitsu, piano, soccer, and track. Kris also enjoys long-distance running, formerly being a competitive runner. He won the US Armed Forces Marathon Championships, was a two-time NAIA All-American in Track, and was a three-time winner of the La Luz Trail Race. He is a member and co-founder of the Dukes Track Club, where he mentors youth track and cross-country runners.