New Mexico Supreme Court

In his State of the Judiciary address before the Legislature Thursday, New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice David K. Thomson touted recent reforms to pretrial detention and called for continued collaboration among the three branches of government.

Santa Fe attorney Megan Dorsey breaks down common misunderstandings of Miranda rights in light of a recent state Supreme Court decision.

In a ruling Monday, the New Mexico Supreme Court rejected the challenges of two defendants who said county sheriffs’ offices violated their Miranda rights. Specifically, notifying them of their right to an attorney. The Justices ruled that the way detectives phrased the warnings was sufficient.

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Monday that nonprofit rural electric cooperatives do not have complete autonomy over their rates. The decision means state utility regulators can set the rates as they see fit. The co-op at the center of the lawsuit is calling the decision “dangerous,” and wants the state Legislature to step in.

This week the New Mexico Supreme Court heard a case stemming from a lawsuit against Albuquerque Public Schools over the interactions of a high school teacher with a Native American student. That student, McKenzie Johnson, spoke with KUNM about that Halloween day in 2018. She says teacher Mary Eastin offered one student dog food, brandished a box cutter, then used scissors to cut another Native American student’s hair before calling Johnson, who is Navajo, a “bloody Indian.”

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a case to address whether or not people can be punished for living in encampments. The outcome could affect a similar case that has made it up to New Mexico’s Supreme Court.

People who interact with courts in New Mexico will now be able to note which pronouns and salutations they use, including some gender-neutral terms. Additionally, the New Mexico Supreme Court Tuesday ordered courts in the state to use what is listed to ensure all parties and attorneys are “treated with dignity, respect, and equality under the law.”

The New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday ruled the Workers’ Compensation Act violates the state Constitution by treating benefits for physical and mental injuries differently.

The third time was a charm in an effort to get New Mexico judges and justices a bigger paycheck. After vetoing proposals to increase judicial salaries two years in row, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed into law a 21% bump for the bench.

This year marks the New Mexico Legislature’s third attempt to raise the salaries of their coequal branch of government in the judiciary. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has vetoed raises for state Supreme Court justices and most lower court judges two years in a row. But a change to this year’s bill may gain the governor’s support.