Democratic Party of Bernalillo County Monthly Meeting

Democratic Party of Bernalillo County Monthly Meeting

"The "Third-Thursday" meeting for February is scheduled for February 21st, with One State Supreme Court Justice and other lower court judges informing us of the retention process. Find out the difference between a retention election held and a regular judge election. They will also review the various courts and what they each are responsible for." The meeting is held at the UNM Law Library on the UNM main campus in room 2401. The address of the Law Library is: 1117 Stanford NE, Albuquerque NM. The meeting starts at 6:00 pm and all democrats are welcome to attend.

Learn more about voting for your state courts—Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court

This is the Courthouse building that has been in the news the most over the last year. But there is more to it then just the building. The New Mexico State Legislature consolidated the functions of the Albuquerque Municipal Court, Bernalillo County Magistrate Court, and Small Claims Court into a single court operation in 1980. It is the only court of its kind in New Mexico.

The Metro Court handles petty misdemeanor and misdemeanor crimes that carry a maximum jail term of 364 days and fines of up to $1,000. The Metro Court also has a Civil Division like the District Court but it can only deal with cases in which the amount in dispute does not exceed $10,000. The judges at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court also conduct felony first appearances.

When it comes to DWI/Drug cases the court handles the first three offences unless other issues increase the time or value of the crime. If a case is appealed it then goes to District court for review to determine if any legal errors were made by the Metro Court Judge. In addition to DWI/Drug court the Metro court also has Mental Health Court, Homeless Court, Co-Occurring Disorders Court and the Urban Native American Drug Court.

The Metropolitan Court has 19 judges: 16 are in the Criminal Division and three are in the Civil Division. The Metropolitan court is called a court of limited jurisdiction but Metropolitan Court judges are attorneys who have practiced law for at least three years before they are appointed to the bench by the Governor. Metropolitan Court Judges also have to apply to a bipartisan commission for selection as do District Court Judges. All Metropolitan judges must run in a partisan election after being appointed to the bench by the Governor for the first term after which Metropolitan Court Judges run in retention elections.

If you would like to learn more about the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court then visit their website at: http://www.metrocourt.state.nm.us/xnet/index.jsp

Note: What is meant by limited jurisdiction—jurisdiction is the rights and powers given to a judge to hear a case in their courtroom by the state or federal government. As in our Metropolitan Court, limits can be placed on a court as to what amount of time or money in a case a judge has jurisdiction over in his/her courtroom. A judge can not hear a case unless it falls into their jurisdiction.