Our Founder & Chief Attorney
Art Nieto grew up in the courtroom. From a young age, he watched his father, a capital defense lawyer, represent individuals charged with the most heinous and serious crimes in the system. He learned at an early age that everyone, even society’s most villainized and marginalized, deserves vigorous representation. Art Nieto graduated from University of New Mexico Law School in 2000 and began his career as a criminal defense lawyer immediately at the New Mexico Public Defender Department as a felony defender in northern New Mexico. He began trying serious violent offenses almost as soon as he passed the bar. He opened Nieto Law Office in 2003 in Albuquerque and has maintained an extensive practice in Albuquerque, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
History of Nieto Law
Nieto Law Office has always been a one-man shop. Art Nieto believes that he is able to provide the most hands-on, personalized representation by focusing on direct representation. His business is the practice of law, not the practice of having a large law firm with huge overhead and many employees. The Nieto Law Office has a small, dedicated staff and a reasonably-sized and well cared-for caseload. We take care of our clients in what is often their greatest time of need.
The Nieto Law Office focuses on criminal defense and plaintiff-side civil litigation. Art Nieto has tried criminal cases in nearly every district in New Mexico as well as in the United States District Court in New Mexico. He has tried cases to juries and to judges across New Mexico in cases ranging from DWI to first degree murder. To Art Nieto, the courtroom is home. His trial experience has made him a keen litigator. Art Nieto has seen the indifference and inhumanity routinely practiced by State and federal prosecutors. He has fearlessly stood up to these practices in the courtroom to defend his client’s rights and interests.
Civil Rights & Personal Injury Representation
In addition to his extensive criminal practice, Art Nieto is proud to represent plaintiff-victims in civil cases. His representation in the civil world ranges from complex state and federal civil rights cases, to liquor liability (Dram Shop) cases, to negligent security cases, to car crash personal injury cases. He represents individuals in insurance bad faith situations and has extensive experience in death from police shooting, death from police misconduct, and catastrophic injury and death from private individual violence.
Trial Experience in New Mexico Courtrooms
Art Nieto’s nearly 100 jury and bench trials over 25+ years span misdemeanor dockets, felony courts, and federal proceedings. He appears regularly in:
- the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, where most Albuquerque DWI and misdemeanor cases are first heard
- the Second Judicial District Court, which handles felony cases arising in Bernalillo County
- the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe
- the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, where federal criminal and civil rights cases are heard
Why Trial Experience Changes Case Preparation
Most cases resolve before a jury is seated, but the terms of that resolution are often shaped by whether the other side believes a case is ready to be tried. Nieto Law Office prepares each matter as if it will go to trial: evidence is examined early, witnesses are interviewed, and the opposing theory is tested rather than taken at face value. That approach carries through the firm’s practice areas, from criminal defense and DWI to personal injury and civil rights.
If your case may end up before a judge or jury, call the Albuquerque or Santa Fe office at (505) 247-1973 to discuss how it would be prepared.