2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 66 - Motor Vehicles
Article 8 - Crimes, Penalties and Procedure
Section 66-8-135 - Record of traffic cases.

A. Every trial court judge shall keep a record of every traffic complaint, uniform traffic citation and other form of traffic charge filed in the judge's court or its traffic violations bureau and every official action and disposition of the charge by that court.

B. The court shall notify the department if a defendant fails to appear on a charge of violating the Motor Vehicle Code or other law or ordinance relating to motor vehicles.

C. Within ten days of the later of entry of a final disposition on a conviction for violation of the Motor Vehicle Code or other law or ordinance relating to motor vehicles or the final decision of any higher court that reviews the matter and from which no appeal or review is successfully taken, every trial court judge, including children's court judges, or the clerk of the court in which the entry of the final disposition occurred shall prepare and forward to the department an abstract of the record containing:

(1) the name and address of the defendant;

(2) the specific section number and common name of the provision of the NMSA 1978 or local law, ordinance or regulation under which the defendant was tried;

(3) the plea, finding of the court and disposition of the charge, including a fine or jail sentence or both;

(4) total costs assessed to the defendant;

(5) the date of the hearing;

(6) the court's name and address;

(7) whether the defendant was a first or subsequent offender; and

(8) whether the defendant was represented by counsel or waived the right to counsel and, if represented, the name and address of counsel.

D. The abstract of record prepared and forwarded under Subsection C of this section shall be certified as correct by the person required to prepare it. With the prior approval of the department, the information required by Subsection C of this section may be transmitted electronically to the department. A report need not be made of any disposition of a charge of illegal parking or standing of a vehicle except when the uniform traffic citation is used.

E. When the uniform traffic citation is used, the court shall provide the information required by Subsection C of this section in the manner prescribed by the department.

F. Every court of record shall also forward a like report to the department upon conviction of any person of any felony if a motor vehicle was used in the commission. With the prior approval of the department, the information required by this subsection may be submitted electronically to the department. The report shall be forwarded to the department within ten days of the final decision of the court or of any higher court that reviews the matter and from which the decision of no appeal or review is successfully taken.

G. The willful failure or refusal of any judicial officer to comply with this section is misconduct in office and grounds for removal.

H. Except as set forth in Subsection I of this section for records of a person holding a commercial driver's license, the department shall keep records received on motorists licensed in this state at its main office. Records showing a record of conviction by a court of law shall be open to public inspection during business hours for three years from the date of their receipt, after which they shall be destroyed by the department, except for records of convictions under Sections 66-8-101 through 66-8-112 NMSA 1978, which may not be destroyed until fifty-five years from the date of their receipt. Any record received on a motorist licensed in another state or country shall be forwarded to the licensing authority of that state or country.

I. The department shall keep records received on a person holding a commercial driver's license or an individual driving a commercial motor vehicle who was required to have a commercial driver's license but was driving a commercial motor vehicle without the appropriate license in its main office. Records showing a record of conviction by a court of law shall be open to public inspection during business hours for six years from the date of their receipt, except for a record of conviction required to be retained for a longer period under federal law, which shall be retained as provided in federal law, or a record of conviction under Sections 66-8-101 through 66-8-112, which shall be retained for fifty-five years from the date of receipt. After the department has held a record of a conviction for the time period required under this subsection, that record shall be destroyed. Any record received on a person holding a commercial driver's license licensed in another state or country shall be forwarded to the licensing authority of that state or country.

History: 1953 Comp., § 64-8-135, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 543; 1979, ch. 71, § 12; 1984, ch. 72, § 9; 1988, ch. 56, § 9; 1990, ch. 120, § 42; 1993, ch. 66, § 15; 1995, ch. 135, § 27; 2005, ch. 312, § 10; 2007, ch. 321, § 11; 2009, ch. 200, § 7; 2013, ch. 205, § 2; 2018, ch. 54, § 1.

Cross references. — For records to be kept by the division, see 66-2-7, 66-5-23 NMSA 1978.

For reporting convictions of nonresidents, see 66-5-25 NMSA 1978.

For the driver's license compact, see 66-5-49 NMSA 1978.

For electronic authentication and substitution for signature, see 14-3-15.2 NMSA 1978.

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, reduced the time that convictions are kept on record for holders of commercial driver's licenses, and provided an exception; and in Subsection I, after "during business hours for", deleted "fifty-five years" and added "six years", and after "date of their receipt", added "except for a record of conviction required to be retained for a longer period under federal law, which shall be retained as provided in federal law, or a record of conviction under Sections 66-8-101 through 66-8-112, which shall be retained for fifty-five years from the date of receipt. After the department has held a record of a conviction for the time period required under this subsection, that record shall be destroyed".

The 2013 amendment, effective July 1, 2013, required courts to notify the taxation and revenue department if a defendant fails to appear on a charge of violating the motor vehicle code; added Subsection B; in Subsection C, in the introductory sentence, after "later of entry of", deleted "judgment and sentence or failure to appear on a charge of violating" and added "a final disposition on a conviction for violation of" and after "court in which the entry of", deleted "judgment had sentence or failure to appear" and added "the final disposition"; in Paragraph (3) of Subsection C, after "sentence or both", deleted "forfeiture of bail or dismissal of the charge"; in Paragraph (4) of Subsection C, at the beginning of the sentence, deleted "an itemization of" and added "total"; and in Subsection G, at the beginning of the sentence, after "The", added "willful".

The 2009 amendment, effective July 1, 2009, in Subsection H, after "commercial driver's license", added "or an individual driving a commercial motor vehicle who was required to have a commercial driver's license but was driving a commercial motor vehicle without the appropriate license".

The 2007 amendment, effective April 2, 2007, added Subsection H providing for records of conviction of persons holding a commercial driver's license.

The 2005 amendment, effective July 1, 2005, changed the period of time when records of conviction under Sections 66-8-101 through 66-8-112 NMSA 1978 may be destroyed from twenty-five years to fifty-five years.

The 1995 amendment, effective June 16, 1995, substituted "department" for "division" throughout the section and "department" for "director" throughout the section; in Subsection B, substituted "of the later of" for "after" and "children's court" for "juvenile court" and added the language beginning "or the final" and ending "successfully taken"; in Subsection E, added the last sentence; and made a minor stylistic change in Subsection F.

The 1993 amendment, effective January 1, 1994, substituted "entry of judgment and sentence or failure to appear a" for "disposition of every", "the entry of judgment and sentence or failure to appear occurred" for "disposition was made", and "an abstract" for "a record" in the introductory paragraph of Subsection B; and inserted "abstract of" in the first sentence of Subsection C.

The 1990 amendment, effective July 1, 1990, made minor stylistic changes in Subsection A; added the present second sentence in Subsection C; rewrote Subsection D which read "When the uniform traffic citation is used, the form of the record on the back of the officer's first copy containing the information required in Subsection B of this section shall be used by the court;" added the second sentence in Subsection E; and inserted "which may not be destroyed until twenty-five years from the date of their receipt" at the end of the second sentence of Subsection G.

The 1988 amendment, effective July 1, 1988, added the Subsection B(1) to B(5) designations and added Subsections B(6) to B(8); designated part of Subsection B as present Subsection C, substituting therein "record prepared and forwarded under Subsection B of this section shall be" for "record must be", and redesignated former Subsections C to F as present Subsections D to G.

Division bound by plea bargain. — When, pursuant to a plea bargain, the judgment and sentence upon conviction of a motorist for driving under the influence expressly provided that the conviction was to be treated as a first conviction under Section 66-8-102 NMSA 1978, the division was bound by the judgment and had no authority to revoke the motorist's license, even though the motorist had a previous conviction. Collyer v. State Taxation & Revenue Dep't Motor Vehicle Div., 1996-NMCA-029, 121 N.M. 477, 913 P.2d 665.