N.M. R. Crim. P. Metro. Ct. 7-504

As amended through August 23, 2024

Rule 7-504 - Discovery; cases within metropolitan court trial jurisdiction

A.Disclosure by prosecution. Unless a different period of time is ordered by the trial court, within thirty (30) days after arraignment or the date of filing of a waiver of arraignment, the prosecution shall disclose and make available to the defendant for inspection, copying, and photographing any records, papers, documents, statements, notes, and recordings made by or of witnesses or other tangible evidence in the prosecution's possession, custody, and control that are material to the preparation of the defense or are intended for use by the prosecution at the trial or were obtained from or belong to the defendant. Such disclosure shall include a written list of the names and addresses of all witnesses whom the prosecution intends to call at the trial, together with any record of any prior convictions of any such witness that is within the knowledge of the prosecution. In cases involving charges of domestic violence, the prosecution may use the district attorney's office as the address for the alleged victim.

B.Disclosure by defendant. Unless a different period of time is ordered by the trial court, within forty-five (45) days after arraignment or the date of filing of a waiver of arraignment, the defendant shall disclose and make available to the prosecution for inspection, copying, and photographing any records, papers, documents, statements, notes, and recordings made by or of witnesses or other tangible evidence in the possession, custody, and control of the defendant that are intended for use by the defendant at trial. Such disclosure shall include a written list of the names and addresses of all witnesses whom the defendant intends to call at the trial, together with any record of any prior convictions of any such witness that is within the knowledge of the defendant.

C.Pre-trial interviews and depositions.

(1)Pretrial interviews. If requested by either party, any person, other than the defendant, with information that is subject to discovery, shall give an interview. A party may obtain the interview by conferring in good faith with opposing counsel and the person to be examined regarding scheduling of the interview. If good faith efforts to schedule and conduct an interview are unsuccessful, the party may request a subpoena to secure the presence of the person to be examined. Either party may record the interview.

(2)Depositions. A deposition may be taken under this rule upon:

(a) agreement of the parties; or

(b) order of the court, upon a showing that the deposition is necessary to avoid injustice.

D.Scope of discovery. Unless otherwise limited by order of the court, the parties may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the offense charged or the defense of the accused person, including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition, and location of any books, documents or other tangible things and the identity and location of persons having knowledge of any discoverable matter. It is not ground for objection that the information sought will be inadmissible at the trial if the information sought appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.

E.Time and place of interview or deposition. Unless agreed to by the parties, any interview or deposition allowed under this rule shall be conducted at such time and place as ordered by the court.

F.Deadline for interview or deposition. Absent the prior approval of the assigned trial judge, an interview or deposition may not be scheduled more than one hundred (100) days after arraignment or the filing of a waiver of arraignment. If a party needs an extension of time, the party must obtain court approval prior to the expiration of the one hundred (100) day period. Failure to comply with this rule may be deemed a waiver of the right to conduct an interview or deposition.

G.Continuing duty to disclose. If a party discovers additional material or witnesses that the party previously would have been under a duty to disclose and make available at the time of such previous compliance if it were then known to the party, the party shall promptly give notice to the other party of the existence of the additional material or witnesses.

H.Failure to comply. If at any time during the course of the proceedings it is brought to the attention of the court that a party has failed to comply with this rule or with an order issued pursuant to this rule, the court may order such party to permit the discovery or inspection of materials, grant a continuance, or prohibit the party from calling a witness, or prohibit the party from introducing in evidence the material, or it may enter such other order as it deems appropriate under the circumstances, including but not limited to holding an attorney, party, or witness in contempt of court.

N.M. R. Crim. P. Metro. Ct. 7-504

As amended, effective 1/1/1994;10/1/1996;9/15/1997; as amended by Supreme Court Order No. 05-8300-021, effective 1/1/2006; by Supreme Court Order No. 07-8300-007, effective 5/21/2007; by Supreme Court Order No. 07-8300-032, effective 11/15/2007; by Supreme Court Order No. 10-8300-012, effective 5/10/2010; as amended by Supreme Court Order No. 17-8300-011, effective for all cases pending or filed on or after12/31/2017.

Committee commentary. - Under Paragraphs A and B, the prosecution and defense are only required to disclose and permit inspection, copying, or photographing of records, papers, documents, and statements of witnesses at the place where the records or statements are located. The expense of copying or photographing is to be paid by the party requesting a copy or photograph.

[Amended by Supreme Court Order No. 17-8300-011, effective for all cases pending or filed on or after December 31, 2017.]

ANNOTATIONS The 2017 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 17-8300-011, effective December 31, 2017, replaced each occurrence of "statements" with "interviews", removed certain formalized procedures to obtain discovery and directed parties to confer in good faith regarding scheduling of interviews, made certain technical revisions to the rule, and revised the committee commentary; in Paragraph A, after "statements", added "notes, and recordings", after "made by", added "or of", and after "together with", deleted "any statement made by the witness and"; in Paragraph B, after "statements", added "notes, and recordings", after "made by", added "or of", and after "together with", deleted "any statement made by the witness and"; in Paragraph C, in the paragraph heading, deleted "by statement or deposition" and added "and depositions", in Subparagraph C(1), in the subparagraph heading, deleted "Statements" and added "Pretrial interviews", deleted "serving a written notice of statement upon the person to be examined and upon the other party not less than fourteen (14) days before the date scheduled for the statement" and added "conferring in good faith with opposing counsel and the person to be examined regarding scheduling of the interview. If good faith efforts to schedule and conduct an interview are unsuccessful, the party may request a subpoena to secure the presence of the person to be examined.", and deleted the remainder of the subparagraph, which related to procedures to secure a subpoena to obtain certain discovery; in Paragraph F, after "with this rule", deleted "shall" and added "may", and after "waiver of the right to", deleted "take a statement" and added "conduct an interview"; and deleted Paragraph I, which defined "statement". The 2010 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 10-8300-012, effective May 10, 2010, in Subparagraph (1) of Paragraph C, in the fourth sentence, at the beginning of the sentence, added "For any case in which the defendant faces potential incarceration upon conviction"; added the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth sentences; and in the ninth sentence, after "subpoena will only be issued", deleted "upon a showing that the party requesting the subpoena made good faith efforts to procure the appearance of the witness without the need for a subpoena" and added the remainder of the sentence. The second 2007 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 07-8300-032, effective November 15, 2007, amended Paragraph B to add the last sentence relating to disclosure of the defendant's witness list. The first 2007 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 07-8300-007, effective May 21, 2007, amended Paragraph A to increase the amount of time prior to trial for the prosecution to make disclosures and to add the last two sentences relating to the types of disclosures to be made by the state and the address of victims in domestic violence cases; amended Paragraph B to change the time for disclosure by the defendant from 10 days before trial to 45 days after arraignment and to include statements made by witnesses in the required disclosures; deleted Paragraph C relating to the exchange of witnesses not less than 10 days before trial and added a new Paragraph C; deleted Paragraph D and added a new Paragraph D relating to the scope of discovery; added new Paragraph E relating to the time and place of statements and depositions; added new Paragraph F relating to the deadline for taking statements and depositions; relettered former Paragraphs E through G as Paragraphs G through I and deleted former Paragraph H limiting the applicability of the discovery requirements to cases within metropolitan court jurisdiction. The 2005 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 05-8300-021 effective January 1, 2006, added new Paragraph D relating to failure to complete discovery, redesignated Paragraphs D through G as Paragraphs E through F and added to the new Paragraph designated "D" "except as otherwise provided in Paragraph D of this rule". For provisions of the 2004 version of Rule 7-504 NMRA, see the 2004 NMSA 1978 on New Mexico One Source of Law DVD The 1997 amendment, effective September 15, 1997, added "Not less that ten (10) days before trial" at the beginning of Paragraphs A and B, inserted "and photographing" and "recorded statements made by witnesses" and made a stylistic change in Paragraph A, inserted "and photographing" and made a stylistic change in Paragraph B, deleted "together with any recorded statement made by the witness" from the end of the first sentence in Paragraph C, and substituted "disclose and make available" for "produce or disclose" in Paragraph D. The 1996 amendment, effective October 1, 1996, added "cases within metropolitan court trial jurisdiction" to the rule heading and added Paragraph G. The 1994 amendment, effective January 1, 1994, designated the existing language as Paragraph A and added the paragraph heading, substituted "The prosecution shall disclose and make available" for "At any time during the pendency of the action, upon request of the defendant, the metropolitan judge may order the prosecution to produce" at the beginning of Paragraph A, inserted "custody and control" near the middle of Paragraph A, deleted the former last sentence of Paragraph A which read "No other discovery proceedings shall be permitted", and added Paragraphs B, C, D, E, and F.

For the duty of the parties in district court civil cases to confer in good faith prior to scheduling depositions to avoid conflicts with the schedules of the witness and parties, see Rule 1-030 NMRA. For depositions and statements in the district court in criminal cases, see Rule 5-503 NMRA. For disclosure by the state in district court criminal cases, see Rule 5-501 NMRA. For disclosure by the defendant in district court criminal cases, see Rule 5-502 NMRA. For the scope of discovery in district court criminal cases, see Rule 5-503 NMRA. For Order of Production, see Criminal Form 9-410 NMRA. For Certificate of Disclosure of Information, see Criminal Form 9-412A NMRA. For Supplemental Certificate of Disclosure of Information, see Criminal Form 9-413 NMRA. For form on motion for production, see Rule 9-409 NMRA. For form on order for production, see Rule 9-410 NMRA.