Judge in New Mexico Gun Case Defied Convention En Route to Bench

David Herrera Urias, the New Mexico federal district judge who blocked a new state regulation limiting the public’s right to openly carry guns, took an unconventional path to the bench.

Urias grew up in Albuquerque where his father managed a tire store and quit high school in his senior year, opting to later earn a GED certificate, the Albuquerque Journal reported in 2022.

He bounced from job to job, including busing tables at a Mexican restaurant in his hometown, before enrolling at the University of New Mexico in his mid-20s. He went on to attend law school there, as well. ...