by Hayley McCullough
Daily Lobo
Alumnus Edward Chavez remembers Pamela Minzner as a leader who united the New Mexico judiciary.
"As a state, we were truly blessed that Pam was a cancer survivor long enough to make such an exceptional contribution to the Supreme Court," he said. "She had an uncanny instinct for what was right and an unmatched ability to build consensus."
Minzner, the state's first female chief justice, died of cancer Aug. 31. She was 63.
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There was a memorial service for her Saturday at Popejoy Hall.
Minzner taught at UNM's law school from 1971 to 1994 and was on the New Mexico court of appeals for 10 years.
In 1994, she was appointed to the New Mexico Supreme Court.
In 1999, she became the first female New Mexican chief justice.
Chavez, a former law student of Minzner's, said she was an exceptional teacher and a talented judge.
Mary Mullarkey, Colorado chief justice, attended Harvard Law School with Minzner.
Mullarkey and Minzner were two of 22 females at Harvard Law in 1965, Mullarkey said.
"Pam combined a high intelligence with a compassionate heart and a deep understanding of people," she said.
Minzner moved from Boston to Albuquerque in 1971 because of the climate, and she fell in love with the state, Mullarkey said.
"She stayed here because of the warmth of the people and the diversity of the culture in New Mexico," she said.
Many students at the law school admired Minzner and looked to her as a role model, said Anne Bingaman, former UNM law professor and wife of Sen. Jeff Bingaman.
Minzner's two sons were born within 14 months of each other, but that didn't stop her from working 80-hour weeks, Bingaman said.
"Think about what that meant to the female law students, who watched her do that with such grace and without any focus on herself," she said "What it basically said to those students is, of course women can do it all."
