New Mexico Court of Appeals
The New Mexico Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.M. Ct. App.) is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of New Mexico.
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Jurisdiction
The court has general appellate jurisdiction over the state district courts and certain state agencies. The only exceptions to this grant of jurisdiction are:
- criminal cases in which the death penalty or life imprisonment is sought,[1]
- Appeals from the Public Regulation Commission, and
- Cases involving the writ of habeas corpus.
These cases are directly reviewed by the New Mexico Supreme Court.
Judges
Ten judges sit on the court, each with their own paralegal and law clerk. However, the Court is moving towards a two-law clerk system.
As of 2021, the judges on the court are Chief Judge J. Miles Hanisee and nine associate judges (in order of seniority):
- Julie J. Vargas[2][3]
- Jennifer L. Attrep
- Kristina Bogardus
- Jacqueline Medina
- Megan Duffy
- Briana Zamora
- Zachary Ives
- Shammara Henderson
- Jane Yohalem
History
The court of appeals was created by a constitutional amendment submitted to the electorate in a special election held on September 28, 1965.[4] The original enabling legislation established a court consisting of four judges.[5] The court was expanded to five judges in 1972[6] and seven judges in 1978. In 1991, it was again expanded to ten judges, where it remains today.[7]
Notes
- See N.M. Const. Art. XI, section 2 ("Appeals from a judgment of the district court imposing a sentence of death or life imprisonment shall be taken directly to the supreme court.").
- "New Mexico Appeals Court Results: Julie Vargas Wins". The New York Times. 2017-08-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
- "NM-Verdicts | Hon. Julie Vargas". www.nmverdicts.com. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
- Donnelly & Minzner, History of the Court of Appeals, 22 N.M. L. Rev. 595, 597 (1992), available at http://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmlr/vol22/iss3/2/
- Donnelly & Minzner, 24 N.M. L. Rev. at 605; see also 1972 N.M. Laws ch. 32, sections 1-2.
- Donnelly & Minzner, 22 N.M. L. Rev. at 607; see also 1978 N.M. Laws ch. 25.
- see Donnelly & Minzner, 22 N.M. L. Rev. at 613; see also 1990 N.M. Laws ch. 35.