NMCentennialBlueBook

320
PROBATE COURTS
1 JUDGE
PER COUNTY
METROPOLITAN COURTS
19 JUDGES
THE JUDICIAL BRANCH
The New Mexico State Constitution provides for a Judicial Branch that includes the Supreme
Court, the Court of Appeals, the District Courts, Magistrate Courts, Probate Courts, and
other such lower courts as are created by the legislature.
The Supreme Court is the highest court of original jurisdiction. Pursuant to statute, the Court
of Appeals has jurisdiction to hear all appeals except cases in which the life imprisonment
or death penalty is imposed. Those matters, as well as appeals from the Public Regulation
Commission, go directly to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court may review decisions of
the Court of Appeals by writ of certiorari. The Supreme Court is comprised of a Chief Justice
and four Justices. The Court of Appeals is comprised of a Chief Judge and nine Judges. All
are elected to eight-year terms. The terms are staggered.
New Mexico’s 33 counties are divided into 13 judicial districts, served by 89 District Judges.
The District Court is the court of unlimited general jurisdiction and commonly referred to as
the trial court in New Mexico. Also, the District Court is a court of review for decisions of
lower courts and administrative agencies. District Judges are elected for six-year terms.
New Mexico Magistrate Courts have jurisdiction in civil matters in which the amount
involved does not exceed $10,000. In Bernalillo County, which has a Metropolitan Court,
the amount also cannot exceed $10,000. In 1979, an act of the State Legislature created
Metropolitan Courts. This act, which has been confined to Bernalillo County, combined
Magistrate Court, Small Claims Court and the Albuquerque Municipal Courts into one court
system and requires the Metropolitan Judges to be lawyers. The Magistrate Courts in the
other 32 counties, like their Metropolitan Court counterparts, also have jurisdiction in criminal
matters over most misdemeanors and other criminal actions where specific jurisdiction is
granted by law such as preliminary hearings in felony cases.
Each county has a Probate Court served by one Probate Judge. The jurisdiction of Probate
Courts, as now constituted, is limited to the determination of heirship of decedents’ estates.
A Probate Judge is elected from within the county for a four-year term.
In addition to the above constitutional courts, most municipalities in New Mexico have
Municipal Courts, whose jurisdiction is limited to violations of municipal ordinances, particularly
traffic ordinances. Other ordinances often enforced in Municipal Courts include
leash laws, laws prohibiting public nuisances, and weed and litter control laws.
SUPREME COURT
5 JUSTICES:
1 CHIEF JUSTICE, 4 JUSTICES
COURT OF APPEALS
10 JUDGES:
1 CHIEF JUDGE, 9 JUDGES
DISTRICT COURTS
13 DISTRICTS,
89 JUDGES
MUNICIPAL COURTS
83 JUDGES
MAGISTRATE COURTS
66 JUDGES