The New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission is an independent state agency charged with investigating allegations of judicial misconduct against New Mexico state and municipal judges and judicial candidates.
Complaint forms may be obtained by contacting the Commission office by telephone or by U.S. Post, or you may click the "Complaint Form" button to download a form in .pdf format. Guidelines for completing this form are included on the complaint form and in the Commission's brochure, which may be obtained by clicking the "Commission Brochure" button.
The creation, history, and purpose of the Commission, statistics, report of activities, and other pertinent information may be found on this web site, and are included in the Commission's annual reports.
Each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia has a judicial disciplinary agency similar to the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission. A complete listing of those organizations may be found on the web site for the American Judicature Society.
The Commission does not have jurisdiction over attorneys, state court hearing officers, state or federal administrative law judges, or federal magistrates and judges.
To file a complaint against an attorney, you may contact the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court. To file a complaint against a federal magistrate or judge, you may contact the Office of the Circuit Executive for the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. To file a complaint against an administrative law judge for the New Mexico Workers Compensation Administration, you may contact the New Mexico Workers Compensation Administration. To file a complaint against an administrative law judge for the United States Social Security Administration, you may contact the Social Security Administration. To file a complaint against a state court hearing officer or special commissioner, you must contact the appointing authority or the chief district court judge of the district.
Policy Regarding Electronic Communication
It has been the long-standing policy of the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission to interact with the public via U.S. Post, telephone, or in person contact.
The Commission does not accept public correspondence via e-mail. The Commission does not accept complaint forms via email or facsimile.
Confidentiality
The New Mexico Constitution mandates that all papers filed with, and all matters before the Commission are confidential. Commission proceedings lose confidentiality only if they are filed with the New Mexico Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's files and hearings are accessible to the public.
An individual who files a complaint with the Commission (a "complainant") is not subject to the confidentiality provisions of the constitution. The constitution states that the filing of papers with, or giving of testimony before the Commission or its masters, is privileged in any action for defamation. However, if a complainant divulges his or her complaint or the contents thereof to individuals or entities other than the Judicial Standards Commission, the complainant may be subject to an action for defamation if the statements contained in the complaint are untrue. Only the filing of the complaint with the Judicial Standards Commission is privileged with respect to any action for defamation.
A complainant's name may be disclosed to the judge who is the subject of the complaint, as required by the Judicial Standards Commission Rules. Commission staff cannot respond to requests for information regarding a complaint or any other proceeding before the Commission. However, a complainant will receive written notice of the ultimate outcome of the complaint, subject to the limits of confidentiality.
Disclaimer
The New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission provides the information on this web site as a service to the Internet public. All information is intended to be complete and timely. However, the Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of this information, and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions.
The New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission does not provide legal advice or explain legal procedures. Legal questions should be reviewed with an attorney.
Although some of the information contained on this web site addresses legal matters relating to disciplinary proceedings, it is only intended to assist the public in obtaining a general understanding of the judicial disciplinary process. The underlying facts concerning every grievance are different, and the material contained on this web site is not intended to be used to definitively assess a judge's conduct.
This web site contains links to other web sites. The Commission does not assume any responsibility for the content found on those sites.
As of July 1, 2009, the Commission will accept IPRA requests at iprarequest@nmjsc.org.