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.

History The court of appeals was created by a constitutional amendment submitted to the electorate in a special election held on September 28, 1965.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/ The original enabling legislation established a court consisting of four judges.Donnelly & Minzner, 24 N.M. L. Rev. at 605; see also 1972 N.M. Laws ch. 32, sections 1-2. The court was expanded to five judges in 1972Donnelly & Minzner, 22 N.M. L. Rev. at 607; see also 1978 N.M. Laws ch. 25. and seven judges in 1978. In 1991, it was again expanded to ten judges, where it remains today.see Donnelly & Minzner, 22 N.M. L. Rev. at 613; see also 1990 N.M. Laws ch. 35.

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,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."). 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.

Composition 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.

NameBornStartTerm EndsPartyAppointerLaw School , Chief Judge2028DemocraticNew Mexico2026RepublicanSusana Martinez (R)Pepperdine2032DemocraticSusana Martinez (R)Virginia2032DemocraticNew Mexico2028DemocraticMichelle Lujan Grisham (D)New Mexico2032DemocraticMichelle Lujan Grisham (D)New Mexico2030DemocraticMichelle Lujan Grisham (D)Columbia2030DemocraticMichelle Lujan Grisham (D)New Mexico2030DemocraticMichelle Lujan Grisham (D)New Mexico2026DemocraticMichelle Lujan Grisham (D)New Mexico

References

External links Official homepage of the New Mexico Court of Appeals