COSCA President Regina deChabert Petersen (left) and Artie Pepin, with the Kenneth P. Palmer Distinguished Service Award. Courtesy/Administrative Office of the Courts

NMSC News:

SANTA FE – A national organization on Tuesday honored Arthur “Artie” Pepin, retired director of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC).

Pepin received the Kenneth P. Palmer Distinguished Service Award from the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) during a ceremony at its annual meeting in Maine. Pepin retired last year after serving 18 years as AOC director. The AOC supports operations of state courts across New Mexico and manages a wide range of judicial programs. 

“Artie dedicated his career to expanding access to justice and promoting fairness in our legal system,” Chief Justice David K. Thomson said.

AOC Director Karl Reifsteck said, “Artie’s tireless work improved the lives of all New Mexicans and advanced justice reforms in our state and across the country.” 

Among Pepin’s achievements:

• He led efforts to improve language access services in courts, such as interpreters for people with limited proficiency in the English language and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. The National Center for Access to Justice consistently has ranked New Mexico as a leader in providing language access in the justice system.

• He was instrumental in building a network of court-based pretrial services programs across the state. New Mexico courts follow evidence-based practices to promote public safety and ensure that people charged with a crime return to court if they are released from custody while awaiting trial. Pepin helped implement reforms that shifted New Mexico away from a money-based bail system. He supported data-driven pretrial decision-making nationally with a 2012-2013 policy paper for COSCA. He later served as president of COSCA and was on the board of directors of the National Center for State Courts.

• Pepin guided efforts to improve court technology, including the implementation of a statewide electronic case management system for docketing and processing court cases. New Mexico also instituted the electronic filing of court case documents, moving away from paper-based documents.

COSCA presents the Palmer Award to a current or former member of the organization “who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership and excellence in judicial administration” or significantly furthered the group’s purposes, including supporting “access to justice and fairness in the courts.” The award is named after the late Kenneth Palmer, a longtime administrator of Florida state courts. 

Pepin joined the AOC as director in 2006 and retired in 2024. He worked as director of the criminal appeals division in the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office from 2000 to 2006.