Longtime Valencia County Court Official Departs After Two Decades

Geoff Nims, a fixture in Valencia County’s legal community for nearly twenty years, left Los Lunas at the end of December, closing a chapter that began with his work in the county courthouse in October 2006. Nims lived in the same Los Lunas home from January 2007 through December 2025 and served in multiple legal roles that touched both criminal and family court work across the 13th Judicial District.

Nims began his local career in the Valencia County District Attorney’s Office from 2006 to 2008, prosecuting serious felonies including murder, sexual assault and child abuse. He then served as a staff attorney for the 13th Judicial District from 2008 to 2014, managing a variety of district court matters and establishing initiatives such as mediation dockets and free legal clinics. Those programs, while since discontinued, represented early efforts to expand access to dispute resolution and legal assistance in the county.

From 2014 until 2024, Nims served as a domestic violence special commissioner and hearing officer. In that decade-long role he issued protection orders, handled child support matters and presided over family-related cases that directly affected vulnerable residents. He described his service in those years as honorable and spent what he characterized as 16 1/2 years working for the 13th Judicial District overall.

Throughout his tenure, Nims worked alongside a wide circle of local legal professionals and court staff. He publicly acknowledged the district attorney who hired him, Lemuel Martinez, and named colleagues including Benny Naranjo, Ron Lopez, Steve Scott and Aaron Jordan from his early prosecutorial days. On the district court side he credited chief court administrator Greg Ireland and staff attorney Crystal Hyer for shaping his local career, and cited other colleagues and court personnel who influenced court operations and treatment court work.

Nims’ reflections included a stark personal moment that underscored the community bonds formed inside the courthouse. On March 17, 2020, he suffered a heart attack in his courtroom and was transported by ambulance; court security officers including Sgt. Curtis Espinoza and Deputy Hoss were credited with actions that may have saved his life.

As he departs, Nims also noted the local landscape and institutions he will miss: Belen, Tomé Hill, El Cerro de Los Lunas, area trails and longtime businesses and organizations that form the county’s civic fabric. His career left tangible changes in how family and criminal matters were handled, and his absence will be felt by colleagues and residents who relied on court-led programs and protections.

Valencia County’s courts will continue to manage the caseloads and services Nims once oversaw, but his departure invites reflection on institutional memory, local legal mentorship and the community networks that sustain public justice work in smaller jurisdictions.