2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 38 - Trials
Article 1 - Process
Section 38-1-2 - Practice statutes may be modified or suspended by rules.]

All statutes relating to pleading, practice and procedure, now existing, shall, from and after the passage of this act [38-1-1, 38-1-2 NMSA 1978], have force and effect only as rules of court and shall remain in effect unless and until modified or suspended by rules promulgated pursuant hereto.

History: Laws 1933, ch. 84, § 2; 1941 Comp., § 19-302; 1953 Comp., § 21-3-2.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

Constitutionality. — When the legislature enacted this chapter, it did not delegate to the court a function exclusively legislative, contrary to N.M. const., art. III, § 1. The trial court rules promulgated by the supreme court, though promulgated subsequent to and consequent upon the enactment of this chapter, were promulgated, nevertheless, by the court in the exercise of an inherent power lodged in the court to prescribe such rules of practice, pleading, and procedure as will facilitate the administration of justice. State v. Roy, 1936-NMSC-048, 40 N.M. 397, 60 P.2d 646.

Modification of legislative rules. — Legislative rules relating to pleading, practice and procedure in the courts, particularly where those rules relate to court management or housekeeping functions, may be modified by a subsequent rule promulgated by the supreme court. Lovelace Med. Ctr. v. Mendez, 1991-NMSC-002, 111 N.M. 336, 805 P.2d 603.

Law reviews. — For article, "Separation of Powers and the Judicial Rule-Making Power in New Mexico: The Need for Prudential Restraints," see 15 N.M.L. Rev. 407 (1985).