Vallejos v Commissioner of Registration
The hearing on Vallejos' case began on 22 August 2011, and stretched out until the 24th. David Pannick represented the respondent, the Commissioner of Registration. During the hearing, the courtroom was packed to overflowing with lawyers, journalists, and other members of the public, who took up not just the seats in the public gallery, but also those for defendants and jury members (the latter being unoccupied as the case at hand was not a jury trial but a judicial review). Another hundred people watched the proceedings on a large-screen television in the lobby, while protestors both supporting and opposing Vallejos' case faced off outside the building without incident.
Same-sex marriage in New Mexico
On August 29, 2013, in "Sharer v. Ellins", seven Republican state legislators–Senators William Sharer and Steven Neville, Representatives David Gallegos, Jimmie Hall, Yvette Herrell, Dennis Roch, and James Strickler–filed a lawsuit in the Third Judicial District Court against Doña Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins seeking an immediate stay of the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The case was assigned to Judge James T. Martin. On September 3, 2013, eight additional Republican lawmakers joined the suit. The group filed similar suits against the clerks of Valencia and San Miguel counties. After Ellins objected to Judge Martin, he recused himself and Judge Manuel I. Arrieta was assigned to the case on September 17, 2013.