Courts

NM Trial Lawyers News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Nine New Mexico legislators have joined 285 women state legislators from 44 states and territories in a letter urging U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson to strike Amendment 041 from the BUILD America 250 Act (H.R. 8870). The state lawmakers’ letter lands as 128 members of Congress, led by the Democratic Women’s Caucus, delivered a parallel demand this week – a coordinated federal–state push against a provision that would shield rideshare companies from liability for harm on their platforms, including sexual assault.

The lawmakers note that the amendment Read More

COURT News:

SANTA FE — The state Supreme Court today upheld the first-degree murder conviction of an Albuquerque man for killing his wife in 2021.

In a unanimous decision, the justices rejected arguments by Lee Marco Cuellar that the trial court erred in allowing a forensic psychologist to testify as an expert witness during the prosecution’s main presentation of evidence to the jury. The witness testified that the psychological symptoms exhibited by Mr. Cuellar did not necessarily mean he was incapable of forming the required criminal intent for first-degree murder.

Cuellar was sentenced Read More

COURT News:

SANTA FE — A new judiciary-operated information service offers assistance to the public about courts in New Mexico and civil legal matters.

Trained staff with the New Mexico Courts HelpLine are available six days a week by telephone to provide legal information and answer questions about state courts.

The no-cost service guides people to court forms and rules for filing or responding to lawsuits, self-help videos on legal topics, and other resources for understanding court procedures in civil actions, including landlord-tenant housing disputes, consumer debt matters and Read More

NMSC News:

SANTA FE — The state Supreme Court ruled today that New Mexico’s medical malpractice law applies to Lovelace Health System for vicarious liability claims seeking to hold it responsible for the alleged malpractice of nurse employees in caring for a woman who died after surgery.

The Court unanimously concluded that Lovelace was entitled to the benefits of the Medical Malpractice Act for vicarious liability claims based on malpractice under the MMA because it was a qualified health care provider (QHP) under the statute. The MMA includes a cap on certain types of damages. 

“We hold that Read More

Rozier E. Sanchez CEI Faculty Award recipient Justice David K. Thomson (center); and (left to right) his wife, Patty, and daughter, Ava; Court Education Institute Director Paula Couselo-Findikoğlu; and CEI Attorney Supervisor Sonya Duke-Noel. Courtesy of the Administrative Office of the Courts

Shown left to right: Rozier E. Sanchez CEI Faculty Award recipient Chief Judge Donna Mowrer of the Ninth Judicial District Court; Court Education Institute Director Paula Couselo-Findikoğlu; and CEI Attorney Supervisor Sonya Duke-Noel. Courtesy of the Administrative Office of the Courts  Read More

COURT News:

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court has upheld a Farmington man’s sex crime conviction, ruling there was no effect on the jury’s verdict by improper communications between the trial court and the jury outside of the defendant’s presence.

The Court concluded that Joshua Freeman had a constitutional right to be present when the trial court addressed two questions from the jury after it had started to deliberate in his case but the error created by his absence did not impact the outcome of the trial.

The jury sent a note to the trial court asking it to distinguish between Freeman’s charged Read More

COURT News:

ALBUQUERQUE — The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico has recently been notified of individuals being targeted in a court-related scam since Monday, June 1, 2026. The targets are receiving a text message from a number that begins with 212. The message provides notice of an alleged traffic citation with the “New Mexico District Court.” The notification provides the name of an issuing officer, assigned judge, clerk of court, and alleged case number. The recipient is advised that they must appear in court on a specific date (typically the day following the date Read More

COURT News:

The state Court of Appeals today issued an opinion in a lawsuit brought by Catron County landowners over elk management by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

Click here to read the opinion in case numbers A-1-CA-42309 and A-1-CA-42310.  Read More