N.M. R. Civ. P. Dist. Ct. 1-071.4
Rule 21-209(A) NMRA of the Code of Judicial Conduct applies to stream adjudications, except that judges, special masters and members of their staff in accordance with this rule may communicate with the plaintiff with respect to matters not addressing the merits of any pending adjudication that relate to general problems of administration and management of a pending or impending adjudication or the accurate reporting of water rights claims in the court's records.
N.M. R. Civ. P. Dist. Ct. 1-071.4
Committee commentary. - The unique nature of a stream system adjudication, including its complexity and size, require coordination between the courts and the state to effectively manage the adjudication. At the same time, the courts are regulated by the Code of Judicial Conduct's prohibition against ex parte communications concerning pending matters. This rule expressly permits the court to have limited ex parte contacts with the plaintiff for the purposes of general administration and management of the adjudication.
ANNOTATIONS The 2013 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 13-8300-017, effective December 31, 2013, changed the citation of the rule that applies to stream adjudications; and at the beginning of the sentence, deleted "Subparagraph (7) of Paragraph B of Rule 21-300 NMRA" and added "Rule 21-209(A) NMRA". The 2011 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 11-8300-027, effective June 8, 2011, ended the practice of annually, provisionally approving the rule and applied the rule to new and pending cases on or after June 8, 2011.