New Mexico Supreme Court
Encyclopedia
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. It is established and its powers defined by Article VI of the New Mexico Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court which reviews civil and criminal decisions of New Mexico's trial courts of general jurisdiction and certain specialized legislative courts, only having original jurisdiction in a limited number of actions. The New Mexico Supreme Court meets in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, the state capital.
The court's five justices are chosen by statewide election, or appointed by the Governor if to fill a seat that has become vacant mid-term; the justices in turn choose who among them will serve as Chief Justice. The second time they face popular election, they must first pass review by a judicial standards committee, and then face a retention election in which they must receive at least 57% of the vote.
New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court
In 1846, what is now New MexicoNew Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
was seized by the United States from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
at the outset of the Mexican-American War. Brigadier General Stephen Watts Kearny was installed as military governor at Santa Fe, and appointed Joab Houghton
Joab Houghton
Joab Houghton was an American lawyer and judge who served as the first Chief Justice of New Mexico.A native of New York, Houghton came to New Mexico when it was still a Mexican territory, and became a successful merchant...
the first Chief Justice of New Mexico, in the provisional civilian government, with Antonio J. Otero and Charles Beaubien also serving as justices. Houghton served until 1850, when the New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory
thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...
was organized by one of the five acts of United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
collectively known as the Compromise of 1850
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five bills, passed in September 1850, which defused a four-year confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War...
.
Section 10 of the 1850 Act formally established the Supreme Court for the territory. The court consisted of a chief justice and two associate justices (later increased to five), who were appointed to four-year terms by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The court met in a building designed by Chief Justice Houghton, which served as the courthouse until 1937.
The justices were also to each preside over a trial court within one of the territory’s three judicial districts. This resulted in a situation then common among the territorial courts, in which the Supreme Court justices would often preside over an appeal from a decision that one of them had handed down; Congress later required disqualification of the justice. The appellate and original jurisdiction of the Territorial Supreme Court was to be defined by subsequent law of the territory, though the 1850 Act provided that writs of error and appeals were to be allowed in all cases from final decisions of the District courts. The justices were given the same power to grant writs of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
as judges of the United States in the District of Columbia.
During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, portions of the territory, including Santa Fe, were briefly captured by forces of the Confederate Army in 1862. The only Chief Justice of New Mexico to be appointed under the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
was Silas Hare
Silas Hare
Silas Hare was a U.S. Representative from Texas.-Early years:Silas Hare Sr. was born in Ross County, Ohio, to Jacob and Elizabeth Freshour Hare on November 13, 1827, and lived the first fourteen years of his life with his grandfather Daniel Hare...
, later to become a U.S. Congressman decades after the war. Hare resigned from the bench to become a colonel in the Confederate Army.
New Mexico Supreme Court
New Mexico became a state on January 6, 1912, and the New Mexico Supreme Court was thereafter governed by Article VI of the New Mexico Constitution.In 1937, the New Mexico Supreme Court finally vacated the building it had occupied for its entire history, to move to a new courthouse.
In 1951, Governor Ed Mechem voluntarily adopted a merit selection system, by the use of a judicial nominating committee that would recommend candidates for appointment. Mechem’s system was used by all subsequent governors, until the appointment process was changed by constitutional amendment.
From 1911 until 1988, New Mexico had been one of a decreasing number of states using an all-partisan election system to select Supreme Court justices. On November 8, 1988, voters approved Amendment Six, which required that all justices be thereafter subject to non-partisan retention elections following their first term chosen by partisan election. The new system entered into effect on January 1, 1989.
Amendment Ten, which was approved with little public controversy in 1994, increased the percentage required for retention from a majority to 57%. In 1997, two District Court judges who lost their 1996 retention elections, along with individuals who had voted to retain them, challenged the constitutionality of the 57% requirement as invalid under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
, because it diluted the votes of those who favored the retention of incumbent judges. The New Mexico Supreme Court granted certiorari and conducted oral arguments, but after a forty minute deliberation ruled from the bench to dismiss the writ of mandamus.
A legal reform interest group called the New Mexico Alliance for Legal Reform has become active in New Mexico judicial campaigns.
In May, 2006, the New Mexico Supreme Court announced that it would assume oversight of pro bono
Pro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...
legal work for the poor by setting up committees in court districts across New Mexico. This had been recommended by a report on equal access to justice that was authored by a court-appointed panel.
Powers and jurisdiction
The Supreme Court hears appealAppeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
s from lower courts, typically those on appeal from the New Mexico Court of Appeals
New Mexico Court of Appeals
The New Mexico Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of New Mexico.-Jurisdiction:The court has general appellate jurisdiction over the state district courts and certain state agencies...
. The Supreme Court also hears direct appeals from trial courts in the three circumstances:
- CriminalCriminal lawCriminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
cases in which the death penaltyCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
or life imprisonmentLife imprisonmentLife imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
is sought, - Appeals from the Public Regulation CommissionNew Mexico Public Regulation CommissionThe New Mexico Public Regulation Commission [PRC] is a regulatory authority in New Mexico charged with the responsibility of seeing that utility customers have "fair and reasonable rates, and to assure reasonable and adequate services to the public as provided by law." The PRC regulates the...
, and - Cases involving the writWritIn common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...
of habeas corpusHabeas corpusis a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
.
The Supreme Court also has jurisdiction over challenged election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
s, and exercises supervision over all the courts of the state, including matters of attorney discipline.
Court composition and selection
The New Mexico Supreme Court consists of five justices. They must be at least thirty-five years old, have actively practiced lawPractice of law
In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister,...
for at least ten years, and have resided in New Mexico for at least three years immediately prior to taking the bench.
A justice is chosen for his first term by statewide, partisan election. Thereafter, that justice is subject to reelection every eight years by a non-partisan retention election. The justice must file a declaration of candidacy, and then receive 57% of the vote to be retained. If the voters do not choose to retain the justice, the seat is filled by the appointment process until the next general election.
Appointments
When a vacancy on the court occurs, a bi-partisan judicial nominating commission has thirty days to solicit, accept, and evaluate applications for the seat and then submit a list of qualified applicants to the governor. The governor then has thirty days to make an appointment, which is subject to confirmation by the New Mexico SenateNew Mexico Senate
The New Mexico Senate is the upper house of the New Mexico State Legislature. The Senate consists of 42 members, with each senator representing an equal amount of single-member constituent districts across the state. All senatorial districts are divided to contain a population on average of 43,300...
.
The judicial appointee serves until the next general election, at which time a partisan election is held. The winning candidate serves out the remainder of the original term, at which time he is then subject to a nonpartisan retention election requiring a 57% affirmative vote to remain on the court. If the justice is not retained, he must vacate office on the following January 1, and the governor must again fill the vacancy by the ordinary procedures of appointment.
Whenever the governor fails to make an appointment within the prescribed thirty day period, the Chief Justice fills the vacancy from the judicial nominating commission’s list of candidates.
Chief Justice
Every two years, the Supreme Court justices choose by majority vote one of their number who has not been appointed to the court to serve as Chief Justice. In the absence of the Chief Justice, the senior most justice present exercises his powers, with seniority being determined by the length of present continuous service on the court. If a vacancy occurs before the end of the two-year term, the justices determine an eligible justice to serve by majority vote for the remainder of that term.The Chief Justice has the power to, when necessary, designate any Supreme Court justice or District Court judge to sit on the Court of Appeals, or designate any judge of the Court of Appeals to sit on the Supreme Court or on a District Court. Additionally, whenever the governor fails to make an appointment to any court within the prescribed thirty day period, the Chief Justice fills the vacancy from the judicial nominating commission’s list of candidates.
Current justices
| Justice | Tenure began | Term ends | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patricio M. Serna Patricio M. Serna -Background:Serna earned a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Business Administration from the College of St. Joseph on the Rio Grande, a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver School of Law, and a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School... |
1996 | 2016 | Elected November 6, 1996 (sworn in December 6); won retention 2000 and 2008; current term ends December 31, 2016. Served as Chief Justice, 2001-2002. |
| Petra Jimenez Maes | 1998 | 2010 | Elected November 3, 1998 (sworn in December 3) to complete Richard E. Ransom's term ending December 31, 2002; won retention election in 2002; current term ends December 31, 2010. Due for retention election November 2010. Served as first Hispanic female Chief Justice, 2003-2004. |
| Richard C. Bosson | 2002 | 2012 | Elected November 5, 2002 (sworn in December 20) to complete Joseph F. Baca's term ending December 31, 2004; won retention in 2004; current term ends December 31, 2012. |
| Edward L. Chavez Edward L. Chavez Edward L. Chavez is a Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court and a former Chief Justice of the court.Chavez was born in Santa Fe. He was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Bill Richardson and has served since March 10, 2003. Justice Chávez graduated from Eastern New Mexico University in... |
2003 | 2014 | Appointed by Governor Richardson January 1, 2003 (sworn in March 7) to complete Gene E. Franchini Gene Franchini Gene Edward Franchini was an American lawyer and judge from New Mexico, and justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court.... 's term ending December 31, 2006; elected in 2004; won retention in 2006; current term ends December 31, 2014. |
| Charles W. Daniels Charles W. Daniels Charles W. Daniels is a justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court. He was first appointed by Governor Bill Richardson in October 2007. In April 2010, he was selected by his fellow Justices to serve as Chief Justice until April 2012.... |
2007 | 2010 | Current Chief Justice, 2010 – 2012. Appointed October 17, 2007 by Governor Richardson to complete Pamela B. Minzer's term ending December 31, 2010; won election in 2008; current term ending December 31, 2010. |
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