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New Mexico’s judicial system is one of the more diverse in the United States, as courts of broad jurisdiction and location- or topic-specific courts of very limited jurisdiction combine to dispense justice within the confines of the state.

New Mexico's Supreme Court

New Mexico’s Supreme Court is composed of five justices, led by Chief Justice Edward L. Chavez, and convenes in the state capital of Santa Fe. It is the court of last resort for the state and has both appellate powers and superintending control over all inferior courts and all attorneys licensed in the state.

The court has mandatory appellate jurisdiction over criminal matters in which the sentence imposed is life in prison or the death penalty. It also is required to review appeals from the Public Regulation Commission, appeals from the granting of writs of habeas corpus, appeals in actions challenging nominations, and the act of removing public officials from office.

The Supreme Court has discretionary jurisdiction over many other matters, including denials of petitions for writs of habeas corpus, petitions for writ of certiorari of the Court of Appeals, other extraordinary writ matters and certified questions either from the Court of Appeals or the federal courts. The justices of the Supreme Court can choose to hear these matters, but they also can choose not to hear them.

Opinions issued by the court are available online.

New Mexico's Court of Appeals

The New Mexico Court of Appeals is a body of 10 judges who are seated to hear cases in panels of three. The court maintains offices in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. In 2007, the chief judge of the Court of Appeals is Thomas B. Sutin.

The Court of Appeals has mandatory jurisdiction in civil, non-capital criminal cases, and juvenile matters. It must hear these cases if they are filed.

Court of Appeals judges can choose, however, to review interlocutory decision cases and appeals arising from state or local administrative agencies.

The court’s “electronic slip opinions” are available online soon after they are issued. These quickly released opinions might differ in some fashion from the final, official opinion released later. In such cases, of course, the official opinion takes precedence.

Also online are the court’s oral arguments calendar, general calendar assignments, and even information on how to obtain an inexpensive DVD with instructions on filing your appeal with the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

New Mexico's District Courts

There are 84 judges presiding over 13 different districts in the New Mexico District Court system.

At this writing, July 2007, eight of the 13 District Court venues have Web sites. They include: First District (Santa Fe, Rio Arriba and Los Alamos counties); Second District (based in Albuquerque); Third District (Las Cruces); Fifth District (Chaves, Eddy and Lee counties); Ninth District (for Curry and Roosevelt counties); 11^th District (McKinley and San Juan counties); 12^th District (Lincoln and Otero); and the 13^th District (for Cibola, Sandoval and Valencia counties).

These courts will hear cases involving tort, contract, real property rights and estates. They have exclusive jurisdiction over domestic relations, mental health, and appeals from the administrative agencies and lower courts of the state. They have miscellaneous civil jurisdictions, and powers to hear cases involving misdemeanor crimes. They have exclusive jurisdiction over juvenile cases and criminal appeals.

New Mexico’s courts maintain a case lookup page through which interested parties can gain information on cases.

New Mexico's Magistrate Courts

In New Mexico, 65 judges preside over courtrooms in 54 Magistrate Court venues. These courts have limited jurisdiction, but do have the power to conduct jury trials.

Cases heard in Magistrate Court can include tort claims, contracts, landlord/tenant disputes (worth $10,000 or less), preliminary hearings for felony crimes, misdemeanor offenses, DWI/DUI, and other traffic violations.

Bernalillo County NM Metropolitan Court

While this is a court of limited jurisdiction, the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court is a major player in the state’s court system. There are 19 judges presiding in its courtrooms, and they have the power to conduct jury trials.

The jurisdictions of Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court closely mirror those of Magistrate Court. Judges in the Bernalillo County courtrooms can hear cases of tort, contracts, landlord/tenant rights in disputes of $10,000 or less, felony preliminary hearings, misdemeanor offenses, DWI/DUI offenses, and other traffic violations.

Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court maintains its own case lookup utility.

The Bernalillo County Probate Court also has a Web presence.

New Mexico's Municipal Court

New Mexico’s 85 Municipal Court judges in 80 courts never preside over jury trials.

On their own, the judges will hear cases involving petty misdemeanors, DWI/DUI and other traffic offenses, and violations of other municipal codes or ordinances.

New Mexico's Probate Court

Thirty-three judges in an equal number of counties preside over Probate Court. The courts have limited jurisdiction and no jury trials.

These courts hear cases involving informal probate matters and uncontested estates. All contested estate cases advance to District Court.

The Bernalillo County Probate Court has a Web presence.

Other New Mexico Court Resources:

A crucial resource in New Mexico, considering the diverse ethnicity and origin of its many residents, is the judiciary’s Court Interpreter Progam.

Also available online are useful family law forms (including for an uncontested divorce), a link to the New Mexico Association of Drug Court Professionals and a Web application allowing users to search an individual’s DWI history.

Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court - Provides jury information, court closures as well as the ability to search court cases.

Second Judicial District Court of New Mexico (SJDC) - Virtual Courthouse

New Mexico Supreme Court - Find information on the New Mexico Supreme Court and the services that are offered through the court.

New Mexico Supreme Court Opinions - Search New Mexico court opinions and legal forms including opinions from the current year and legal forms.

Law Library of the New Mexico Supreme Court - Search statutes, rules, case law, opinions, the state bar and of the state libraries.

United States District Court - District of New Mexico

United States Bankruptcy Court - District of New Mexico

United State Probation Office - District of New Mexico

United States Pretrial Office - District of New Mexico

First Judicial District Court - Featuring Westlaw, forms, calendars and case lookup.