Some court files have been sealed (also called sequestered), which means they cannot be viewed by the public. Court staff cannot give you any information about these sequestered files.
 
Court files that have not been sealed are available for public viewing. Court case files cannot be removed from the Court, and must be viewed in the presence of Court staff.

The judge or commissioner cannot speak to any party in a case outside of a court hearing. The reason they cannot speak to you outside of a hearing is in fairness to the parties. Both parties have the right to be present whenever there is communication with a judge or commissioner.

The Court Clerks are prohibited from giving legal advice in any manner.

A Pro Se Litigant is someone who represents himself or herself.
For more information:
Pro Se Litigant Information

Go to the Magistrate Court that ordered you to get the device. The clerk at that court will be able to tell you what you can do. The District Court cannot help you.

If you are on probation or parole, your probation/parole officer can assist you, according to the statute NMSA 1978 §66-8-102.3 (C). You may have to tell your probation/parole officer about this statute. Click here to print a copy of the statute. If you want the District Court to decide whether you are eligible to receive financial assistance, you must file an Application For Interlock Device Fund Subsidy in your criminal case. This form will ask you to list your income, dependents and expenses. After you complete the form, the clerk will provide the information to the judge’s office. If the judge finds that you meet the income requirements, the judge will sign an order indicating whether you are eligible for financial assistance. If the order indicates you are eligible for assistance, take a copy of order to the ignition interlock device provider. The provider will use the order to obtain the financial assistance for you. In San Juan County cases, click here to print out an Application For Interlock Device Fund Subsidy form along with instructions and an order form for the judge’s use.

A step-by-step guide and forms to file for the restoration of your driving privileges are available online at http://www.mvd.newmexico.gov.
Currently, access the drop-down menu entitled “Drivers.” From there, choose “Driver Forms.” Print out the “Driver License Restoration Packet” from the list.

A Public Defender may be appointed to represent a defendant in a criminal case if certain criteria are met, such as income.

Cash bonds may be returned to the individual who posted the bond after the defendant has appeared at all required hearings. The person who posted the bond must file both a Motion and an Order with the Court to release bond monies. Once the Order has been approved, the Court Financial Department will process the bond refund.

The clerk's office can provide a copy of the driver's license restoration packet. There will be a per page copy charge for the documents and a filing fee in accordance with the current Court fee schedule. The Judge's office will schedule a hearing, and the Judge will determine if restoration will be granted.

In New Mexico there is a process whereby juvenile delinquency records are to be sealed if you had no new allegations of delinquency. However, due to the backlog in dealing with these records, you should petition the Court to have the records sealed just to be sure. Records can be sealed only if two years have elapsed from the time you were released from probation or your case was otherwise disposed of.

This web site cannot advise you about whether you can actually get the order changed or whether you should even ask. You may want to consider contacting an attorney for legal advice. If you decide you want to ask the court to change the order, one option would be to file a Motion to Modify Previous Decree/Judgment/Order and Request for Hearing. Before you file your Motion to Modify and Request for Hearing, you must provide copies of the motion and request to the opposing party. Be very sure that the opposing party actually receives the copies. Mailing the motion to an outdated address may not be enough. If the case has been closed for more than 90 days, you may have to pay a fee to the court to reopen the case in order to file your motion and request. Click here to read Rule 1-099 which describes fees. If your case is in San Juan County, click here to print out a Motion to Modify Previous Decree/Judgment/Order and Request for Hearing form that you may use.

Only the judge in your case can give you the permission to do so. To ask permission to appear by telephone, you must file a Motion to Appear by Telephone and do it well in advance of the hearing. When you file the motion, you must also submit a proposed Order Allowing Appearance by Telephone for the judge’s use. Before you file your Motion to Appear by Telephone, you must provide a copy of the motion to the opposing party according to Rule 1-005 of the New Mexico Rules of Civil Procedure. Click here to see Rule 1-005. If your case is in San Juan County, click here to print out Motion to Appear by Telephone and Order Allowing Appearance by Telephone forms

You may want to consider filing a Motion For Order to Show Cause. When you file the motion, you must also submit a proposed Order to Show Cause for the judge’s use. If your case is in San Juan County, click here to print out Motion For Order to Show Cause and Order to Show Cause forms.

Information and forms to file an appeal to the New Mexico Court of Appeals may be found on that Court’s web site at http://coa.nmcourts.gov. Currently, access the drop-down menu entitled "Documents". From there, choose “Forms" if you represent yourself. You can then select forms for an appeal in a civil case, a domestic case or a criminal case

Attorney representation is required only for companies/corporations. Individuals may choose to represent themselves. Self-representation requires that you prepare all necessary paperwork and that you know and follow the law and legal procedure.

Self-represented litigants must contact an attorney if assistance in filling out forms is needed. Court staff cannot provide advice or assistance for filling out forms.

The Judge's office schedules hearings after it receives a Request for Hearing form.

A notice of hearing will be sent to you when a hearing is scheduled. You may receive a mailed notice from the Judge's office. You also may receive a summons or subpoena that tells you when to appear in court. If you are represented by an attorney, your attorney will inform you about court dates. Information also is available from the Clerk's office and from the New Mexico State Courts Web site online case lookup. It is important that the Clerks' Office always has your current address on file so that you will receive notices.

If you cannot make a court hearing on the day of the hearing, immediately call the judge’s office. You must have a very serious reason. Explain to the judge’s staff what the situation is. The judge may grant a continuance, that is, allow the hearing to be reset for another day.

If you know in advance that the court date conflicts with another serious matter, what you do may depend on what type of case it is, whether hearings have been postponed in the past and the type of hearing that is scheduled. This web site cannot advise you about what you should do. You may want to consider rescheduling the other serious matter. You may want to consider contacting an attorney for legal advice. One option would be to ask the court to continue, or postpone, the hearing. To do so, a Motion to Continue must be filed with the court and a proposed Order to Continue submitted with the motion. Before you file your Motion to Continue, you must provide a copy of the motion to the opposing party according to Rule 1-005 of the New Mexico Rules of Civil Procedure. Click here to see Rule 1-005. If your case is in San Juan County, click here to print out Motion to Continue and Order to Continue forms.

If your income does not exceed 150% of the current federal poverty guidelines, the court may waive the filing fee and/or allow for free service of process. You must file an Application and Order for Free Process when you file your case. The form will ask you to list your income, dependents and expenses. After you complete the form, the clerk will provide the information to the judge’s office. If the judge finds that you meet the income requirements, the judge will sign an order indicating whether you must pay the filing fee and whether free process will be allowed. In San Juan County cases, click here to print out an Application and Order for Free Process.

In the case of a divorce where both parties agree on the community property/debt, a parenting plan, child support, etc., the divorce can become final fairly quickly. Uncontested divorces do not require any court hearings. Instead, uncontested paperwork, signed by both parties, is submitted to the judge’s office and the divorce is granted by the judge.
If the divorce is contested, that is, the parties cannot agree on certain issues like community property/debt, a parenting plan, etc., the time it takes depends on how many hearings must be held to settle the contested issues.

Yes, by filing a Motion for Interim Allocation of Income and Expenses with the Court. The motion requires both parties complete a Statement of Interim Income and Expenses. At the hearing on the Motion for Interim Allocation, the Court determines if one party owes the other party a certain monthly income until the divorce is final. This motion and related paperwork is included in the free divorce legal form packets available in the clerk’s office.

Yes, you can still proceed with the divorce. If the respondent refuses to sign the papers, you are involved in a contested divorce. A contested divorce simply means the parties cannot agree on how to divide the community property/debt, a parenting plan, support, etc. In a contested divorce situation, a party asks the Court for a hearing on the contested issues in the divorce.

Either party or both parties can ask the Court to refer their case to mediation at any time. The Court assigns an experienced mediator to discuss the contested issues, explore options and come to an agreement that satisfies both parties with the added goal of keeping the relationship between the parties non-adversarial. The cost of mediation is paid by parties.

After an Order is entered by the Court, the Court has no resources to monitor the parties to ensure they are following the order. If one party is not following the conditions set by the Court, then the complaining party must file a Motion to Show Cause and demonstrate how the opposing party is not complying with the Court's Order. This paperwork is available in the clerk's office.Or Click here to Download and print it out. A hearing must take place. At the hearing, the party who is not complying with the order has an opportunity to be heard. If there is no reason why the order is not being followed, the Court may hold the non-complying party in contempt of court and impose sanctions.

If you are in the process of getting a divorce or establishing paternity/visitation, you may file a Motion for Temporary Visitation with the Court. The motion requires a hearing. At the hearing, the party who is not allowing the kids to see the other parent must have serious reasons why visitation is being denied. If there are no reasons, the Court will enter an order granting temporary visitation. This order remains in effect until the final parenting plan is in place.
If you are already divorced or have already established parentage, you must file a Motion to Show Cause and demonstrate how the opposing party is not complying with the Court's order. This paperwork is available in the clerk’s office. A hearing must take place. At the hearing, the party who is not complying with the order has an opportunity to be heard. If there is no reason why the order is not being followed, the Court may hold the non-complying party in contempt of court and impose sanctions.

Never withhold visits with the kids because child support hasn’t been paid. These issues are determined separately. You cannot punish the non-paying parent by refusing visitation with the kids. What you can do is file a Motion to Show Cause and demonstrate how the opposing party is not complying with the Court’s order to pay child support. This paperwork is available in the clerk’s office. A hearing must take place. At the hearing, the party who is not complying with the order has an opportunity to be heard. If there is no reason why the order is not being followed, the Court may hold the non-complying party in contempt of court and impose sanctions.
You may also wish to have the Court issue a Wage Withholding Order so that the support money is sent directly to you from the other parent's employer.

How much a parent pays for child support is determined by New Mexico’s child support laws. To pay less requires that you show the Court an important change in your circumstances that seriously affects your ability to pay the support required by law. If this is the case, file a Motion to Amend Child Support telling the court what serious changes in your circumstances affect your ability to currently pay the court ordered child support.

A minor child does not have the legal right to decide which parent he/she will live with. However, in determining visitation, custody or placement of a minor child, the wishes of the minor child is a factor the Court may consider in making the decision.

Check your parenting plan. Generally, the language of the plan states neither parent will move the children out of state unless both parents agree or the Court allows it. Unless the Court has granted you sole legal custody of your children, or the other parent agrees to the move, it is a complicated issue and will require a court hearing.

Submit a request to the Clerk's office in person, by mail or by facsimile. The request should include: 1) The exact full name of one or both parties, 2) If known, the case number, 3) The approximate filing date of the action.

Rule 1-004 of the Rules of Civil Procedure for district courts describes in detail how to serve a person. If possible, the defendant or respondent should be personally served with the paperwork. However, there are other methods if personal service cannot be achieved. If you are involved or connected to the case, you CANNOT serve the paperwork. Paperwork can be served by the Sheriff, private process servers or a person 18 years of age or older and not a party to the case. The clerk’s office has the forms for Summons and Service of Process.

If you have made a serious effort to locate the defendant/respondent and he/she cannot be located, you may serve that party by publication. The clerk’s office offers free Service by Publication form packets that include simple, clear instructions for proceeding in this manner.

 
By Civil Court Rule 1-004, the court may allow service by publication if the legal notice is published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county which is most likely to give the defendant notice of the action. General circulation means that the newspaper is easily accessible at various locations in the county. For example, convenience stores, restaurants, etc. Publish in a newspaper that is in general circulation in the county where the defendant was last known to live.
In McKinley County, the newspapers of general circulation are:
_    Gallup Herald
_    Gallup Independent
 
In San Juan County, the newspaper of general circulation is:
_    Farmington Daily Times
_   
_   

Electronic Recording Monitors (ERM). An electronic audio recording is available in most cases in the Eleventh Judicial District Court.
How do I get a copy of an ERM proceeding? Copies of electronically recorded proceedings are available on CD, and cost $10.00 per disc. Requests for a CD recording may be made via phone. In order to process your request, please provide the following information with your request:

• Name and Telephone number of requester (Required Information)
• Case Name
• Case Number
• Date of Proceedings
• Name of Judge
• Location of Courthouse where Hearing/Trial was held (Required Information)

Please allow one week for your request to be processed. You will be contacted when the disc is ready to be picked up.
In order to play the CD, you must download a player from here FTR GOLD player plus There is no charge for this download.
Parties are responsible for making their own arrangements for paper transcripts of electronically recorded proceedings. The Court does not provide references for transcription services.

Court reporter transcripts may be requested from the clerks in the location where the case is heard. Go to the Clerks page for the contact information.
Keep in mind that only major trials are transcribed. All others are basic logs with a digital recording. Please see the FAQ for requesting a copy of a Digitally Recorded Proceeding.
In order to process your request, we will need the following information:

• Name and telephone number of requester (Required information)
• Case Name
• Case Number
• Date of Proceedings
• Name of Judge
• Courtroom number
• Location of Courthouse where Hearing/Trial was held

Please allow one week for request to be processed. You will be contacted when the transcript is ready to be picked up.

Please direct further questions to the CIP Webpage: http://www.nmcourts.gov/newface/court-interp/

A translator reads and writes documents. Contact the American Translators Association at 703-683-6100 or visit its Web site at http://atanet.org/

Under New Mexico Rules of Evidence, a qualified sign language interpreter is an interpreter who has been certified as competent to interpret court proceedings by an organization approved by the Judicial Council. The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc., is currently the only organization authorized by the Judicial Council to certify court interpreters for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. http://www.rid.org/

There is a great demand in the State of New Mexico for certified and registered court interpreters. Many certified and registered court interpreters work as permanent employees while others work as freelance contract interpreters, hired by the day or the half day by the courts. A contract interpreter must be willing to travel from one trial court to another, and often from one county to another, to be assured of full-time work. Currently, contract court interpreters are paid $282 a day and $156.56 for a half day. The Administrative Office of the Courts of New Mexico currently pays staff interpreters $5,742 - $6,274 per month, depending on experience and subject to negotiation with organized labor.

Only interpreters who pass the Court Interpreter Certification Examination and fulfill the corresponding Judicial Council requirements are referred to as certified interpreters. Currently, there are Court Interpreter Certification Examinations for 12 designated languages: Arabic, Eastern Armenian, Western Armenian, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Interpreters of spoken languages for which there is no state certifying examination are required to pass the English Fluency Examination and fulfill the corresponding Judicial Council requirements in order to become registered interpreters of a non-designated language.

Yes. Court interpreting is a very demanding job that requires complete fluency in both English and the foreign language. The level of expertise required is far greater than that required for everyday bilingual conversation. The interpreter must be able to handle the widest range of language terms that might be presented in the courts, everything from specialized legal and technical terminology to street slang. Most people do not have full command of all registers of both English and the foreign language and, therefore, require special training to acquire it. Although there are no minimum requirements that must be met in order to apply to take the state certification test, applicants are encouraged to complete formal, college-level course work and training in both languages and modes of interpreting before applying for the examination. At present there are colleges and universities throughout the State of New Mexico that offer introductory courses and certificate programs in interpretation or translation. However, most of these are for English/Spanish. We encourage you to contact the schools and request information about their programs. For the other languages, the following self-study techniques are suggested: (1) expand your vocabulary, (2) develop your own glossaries, and (3) develop interpreting techniques. Suggested skills-enhancing exercises are available to help you develop three interpreting techniques: (1) consecutive interpretation, (2) simultaneous interpretation, and (3) sight translation.

A court interpreter is anyone who interprets in a court proceeding (e.g., arraignment, motion, pretrial conference, preliminary hearing, deposition, trial) for a witness or defendant who speaks or understands little or no English. Court interpreters must accurately interpret for individuals with a high level of education and an expansive vocabulary, as well as persons with very limited language skills, without changing the language register of the speaker. Interpreters are also sometimes responsible for translating written documents, often of a legal nature, from English into the target language and from the target language into English.

The Administrative Office of the Courts of New Mexico is committed to Justice. Providing equal access to Justice is the role of the court interpreter, whose duty it is to act as a medium between the court and anyone who needs language assistance.

The Courts are staffed with 86 interpreters at 7 justice centers who, together with over 250 additional contract interpreters, serve the court and public by providing access to justice in over 49 languages.

How to become a court interpreter.
Learn more about New Mexico’s Court Interpreter Program (CIP) and how to become an interpreter by visiting: http://www.nmcourts.gov/newface/court-interp/

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

*Click on a FAQ to read our answer

What is a Court Interpreter?

Is Special Training Recommended to Become a Court Interpreter?

What is the Difference Between a Certified and a Registered Interpreter?

What is the Job Market Like for Court Interpreters?

Is Certification Required to Become a Sign Language Interpreter?

How do I Become a Translator?

Court Reporter Mission Statement 
The mission of Court Reporter Services is to serve the needs of the bench by providing verbatim shorthand reporting and electronic recording monitor services in a professional and timely manner, as governed by state and federal laws. We promote professional excellence through training, mentoring, and the use of state-of-the-art technology.
Learn more about how to become a court reporter at the New Mexico Court Reporters Association’s website: Click Here
If you are a New Mexico licensed reporter and are interested in applying for a position, please see our Employment Opportunities page for further information. Click Here

No.

There is no set time you will be on PTS. You will be supervised until the Judge determines differently or you are sentenced.

It does not cost the defendant to be supervised by PTS. PTS is funded through San Juan County and the State of New Mexico.

By offering close supervision of clients on PTS, thus making the client more productive in the community via employment, counseling, education, drug counseling, weekly appointments and sight visits.

It started as part of the bail reform act to provide an option to excessive bonds. Many states with PTS have changed from the practice of bonding to using PTS.

Any US citizen is eligible for this program and reciprocity between other PTS agencies, where available, is utilized.

PTS supervises defendants before sentencing. Probation is after sentencing. Dual supervision is not done in order to save the State money and manpower.

After meeting certain criteria to determine risk of flight and safety to community, a report and recommendation is given to the Judge for approval or denial.

Those who qualify for PTS are usually released within 1-2 weeks from date of referral.

No, you need a direct placement from the Judge. Usually an order from the bench for a PTS evaluation is filed.

District Court does not handle traffic tickets.

Those are handled by the Magistrate and Municipal Courts.
The ticket it will indicate which court you need to go to or contact.

Contact Info Below: