SANTA FE -- New Mexico Attorney General Gary King is determined to give Governor Bill Richardson his choice for a vacant seat on the state's District Court bench.

So much so that he's filed suit with the state Supreme Court to force the Fifth Judicial District Nominating Commission to submit more than one name for the vacancy.

The commission has already declined to twice before provide Richardson with more than the name of Judge Richard Brown for the vacancy. It was created when Judge Jay Forbes retired last November.

King filed the suit last Friday asking the Supreme Court to force the commission to submit more names for the judgeship, based in Carlsbad. "The nominating commission has failed to perform its constitutionally required duties," King stated on filing.

But commission member Lisa Riley told the Carlsbad Current-Argus that it was constitutionally required to submit only names that receive a majority vote. She said she did not see how the Supreme Court could force them to vote for a candidate they did not approve of.

The attorney general also asked the Supreme Court Friday for a stay that would postpose until Wednesday (Feb. 28) the deadline for the governor, a fellow Democrat, to appoint a judge. If the deadline expires the chief justice must instead fill the vacancy.

The governor has said he would like to see more candidates for the vacancy that "reflect the diversity of this state."

Richardson has already declared for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008. King has since ruled that Richardson can legally raise campaign funds for that race while the state legislature is still sitting.

Last year Richardson appointed Brown to a newly-created district-court judgeship but Brown lost the subsequent election in November.