New Mexico Supreme Court

The New Mexico Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Article VI of the New Mexico Constitution establishes it and defines its powers. It is mainly an appellate court, reviewing civil and criminal decisions of the state trial courts of general jurisdiction and certain specialized courts, and it has original jurisdiction in only a limited number of actions. Its five justices are chosen in statewide elections, or appointed by the governor to fill a mid-term vacancy, and the justices choose one of their number as chief justice. After a first partisan election, a justice must win a retention election with at least 57 percent of the vote. The court sits in the New Mexico Supreme Court Building in Santa Fe, which it entered in 1937. It descends from the territorial supreme court set up by the 1850 act organizing New Mexico Territory; the present state court began when New Mexico became a state on 6 January 1912.