Judge Murguia Presents First U.S. Sen. Dennis Chavez Lecture

Judge Mary Murguia, front left, with the Tristani family, from l-r: Jorge Tristani, Gloria C. Tristani, Gloria M. Tristani (`90).

The Honorable Mary H. Murguia of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit presented the inaugural U.S. Sen. Dennis Chavez Endowed Lectureship on Law & Civil Rights on Oct. 20, offering examples of how the New Mexico senator’s unyielding commitment to preserving civil rights continues to be important today. Professor Norman Bay, a personal friend, introduced Judge Murguia, the first Latina to serve as a federal district court judge in Arizona, who also shared an account of her own inspiring rise through the legal system.

During her visit to the UNM School of Law, Judge Murguia enjoyed lunch with members of the Mexican American Law Student Association and spent time with the faculty and judges on the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

This new lecture series was established as an endowment by the Dennis Chavez Foundation, led by the late senator’s family, to memorialize Chavez’s legacy as a public servant and a champion of civil rights. Throughout his life, Chavez, a populist from Albuquerque’s South Valley who rose to become a nationally renowned U.S. senator during the mid-20th century, spoke for equality and fairness and against discrimination and bigotry.

More than 250 people attended the Oct. 20 lecture at the UNM School of Law.

 

October 28, 2011