
Second Judicial District Court
Children’s Court Judges
The children’s court division has four (4) judges who handle juvenile cases including abuse and neglect of children, adoptions, and juvenile delinquency.
They preside at the Juvenile Justice Center, which is located at 5100 2nd Street NW.

Biography: Judge Catherine Begaye, a member of the Navajo Nation, is New Mexico’s only Native American District Court judge. Judge Begaye is a graduate of UNM Law School, where she was the Editor in Chief of the New Mexico Law Review and a Dean’s Award recipient for being a student who made outstanding contributions to the law school community.
She worked as a Public Defender representing juveniles and adults in District and Appellate courts. When she went into private practice in 2013, she found her calling in her work with Native families in the abuse and neglect arena.
She is the Chair of the Children’s Court Rules Committee, a member of the NM Partners, and a board member of Casa Q.


Biography: Judge Alma Cristina Roberson was born in the border town of El Paso, Texas to immigrant parents from Mexico. She moved to Albuquerque in 2009 to attend the University of New Mexico School of Law. She graduated in 2012 and started soon after as an attorney in the Metro Division of the Law Offices of the Public Defender. In 2015, she moved to the Juvenile Division of LOPD where she found her true passion, working with children and their families.
As part of her advocacy, Judge Roberson served as a board member for Bernalillo County’s Reducing Racism and Ethnic Disparities Committee for two years. Currently, Judge Roberson serves on the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court National Project Advisory Board for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
