A.Service; when required. Unless the court otherwise orders, every pleading subsequent to the citation or complaint, every written order, every paper relating to conditions of release or bond, every paper relating to discovery, every written motion other than one which may be heard ex parte, and every written notice, demand, and similar paper shall be served upon each of the parties.B.Service; how made. When service is required or permitted to be made upon a party represented by an attorney, the service shall be made upon the attorney unless service upon the party is ordered by the court. Service upon the attorney or upon a party shall be made by delivering a copy to the attorney or party, or by mailing a copy to the attorney or party at the attorney's or party's last known address. Service by mail is complete upon mailing.C.Definitions. As used in this rule: (1) "Delivering a copy" means: (a) handing it to the attorney or to the party;(b) sending a copy by facsimile or electronic transmission when permitted by Rule 8-209 NMRA or Rule 8-210 NMRA;(c) leaving it at the attorney's or party's office with a clerk or other person in charge, or, if there is no one in charge, leaving it in a conspicuous place in the office;(d) if the attorney's or party's office is closed or the person to be served has no office, leaving it at the person's dwelling house or usual place of abode with some person of suitable age and discretion then residing there; or(e) leaving it at a location designated by the court for serving papers on attorneys, if the following requirements are met:(i) the court, in its discretion, chooses to provide such a location; and(ii) service by this method has been authorized by the attorney, or by the attorney's firm, organization, or agency on behalf of the attorney. (2) "Mailing a copy" means sending a copy by first class mail with proper postage. D.Filing by a party; certificate of service. All papers after the citation or complaint required to be served upon a party, together with a certificate or affidavit of service indicating the date and method of service, shall be filed with the court within a reasonable time after service.E.Filing with the court defined. The filing of papers with the court as required by these rules shall be made by filing them with the clerk of the court, except that the judge may permit the papers to be filed with the judge, in which event the judge shall note on the papers the filing date and forthwith transmit them to the office of the clerk. "Filing" shall include filing a facsimile copy or filing an electronic copy as may be permitted under Rule 8-209 NMRA or Rule 8-210 NMRA. If a party has filed a paper using electronic or facsimile transmission, that party shall not subsequently submit a duplicate paper copy to the court. The clerk shall not refuse to accept for filing any paper presented for that purpose solely because it is not presented in proper form as required by these rules or any local rules or practices, except as provided in Paragraph A of Rule 8-201 NMRA, which prohibits the filing of an unsigned citation or complaint.F.Proof of service. Except as otherwise provided in these rules or by order of court, proof of service shall be made by the certificate of an attorney of record, or if made by any other person, by the affidavit of such person. Such certificate or affidavit shall be filed with the clerk or endorsed on the pleading, motion, or other paper required to be served.G.Filing of motions. Whenever, by these rules, a party is required to "move" within a specified time or a motion is required to be "made" within a specified time, the motion shall be deemed to be made at the time it is filed or at the time it is served, whichever is earlier. H.Filing and service by the court. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the court shall serve all written court orders and notices of hearing on the parties. The court may file papers before serving them on the parties. For papers served by the court, the certificate of service need not indicate the method of service. For purposes of Rule 8-104(C) NMRA, papers served by the court shall be deemed served by mail, regardless of the actual manner of service, unless the court's certificate of service unambiguously states otherwise. The court may, in its discretion, serve papers in accordance with the method described in Subparagraph (C)(1)(e) of this rule.I.Filing and service by an inmate. The following provisions apply to documents filed and served by an inmate confined to an institution: (1) If an institution has a system designed for legal mail, the inmate shall use that internal mail system to receive the benefit of this rule.(2) The document is timely filed if deposited in the institution's internal mail system within the time permitted for filing.(3) Whenever service of a document on a party is permitted by mail, the document is deemed mailed when deposited in the institution's internal mail system addressed to the parties on whom the document is served.(4) The date of filing or mailing may be shown by a written statement, made under penalty of perjury, showing the date when the document was deposited in the institution's internal mail system.(5) A written statement under Subparagraph (4) of this paragraph establishes a presumption that the document was filed or mailed on the date indicated in the written statement. The presumption may be rebutted by documentary or other evidence.(6) Whenever an act must be done within a prescribed period after a document has been filed or served under this paragraph, that period shall begin to run on the date the document is received by the party.N.M. R. Mun. Ct. P. 8-208
As amended, effective 3/1/2000; as amended by Supreme Court Order No. 14-8300-016, effective for all cases pending or filed on or after12/31/2014; as amended by Supreme Court Order No. 16-8300-007, effective for all cases pending or filed on or after12/31/2016.Committee commentary. - Paragraph I governs the filing and service of documents by an inmate confined to an institution. A court generally will not consider pro se pleadings filed by an inmate who is represented by counsel. See, e.g., State v. Martinez, 1981-NMSC-016, ¶ 3, 95 N.M. 421, 622 P.2d 1041 (providing that no constitutional right permits a defendant to act as co-counsel in conjunction with the defendant's appointed counsel); State v. Boyer, 1985-NMCA-029, ¶ 15, 103 N.M. 655, 712 P.2d 1 (explaining that "once a defendant has sought and been provided the assistance of appellate counsel, that choice binds the defendant, absent unusual circumstances" (citation omitted)).
[Adopted by Supreme Court Order No. 14-8300-016, effective for all cases pending or filed on or after December 31, 2014.]
ANNOTATIONS The 2016 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 16-8300-007, effective December 31, 2016, provided an exception to the rule that the clerk of the municipal court shall not refuse to accept for filing any paper presented for that purpose solely because it is not presented in the proper form; and in Paragraph (E), in the fourth sentence, after "practices", added "except as provided in Paragraph A of Rule 8-201 NMRA, which prohibits the filing of an unsigned citation or complaint." The 2014 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 14-8300-016, effective December 31, 2014, authorized the court to designate a place of service on attorneys; provided for the filing and service of orders and notices by the court; provided for the filing and service of documents by an inmate; in Paragraph A, after "complaint, every", added "written" and after "written order", deleted "not entered in open court"; in Paragraph B, in the second sentence, after "last known address", deleted "or, if no address is known, by leaving it with the clerk of the court"; in Paragraph C, added "Definitions. As used in this rule:", in Paragraph C (1), changed "Delivery of" to "Delivering", after "a copy", deleted "within this rule", and after "or to the party", deleted "in the office", added Paragraph C (1)(e) and deleted former Paragraph C (5) which provided that delivery included placing a copy in a box maintained by the attorney for purposes of serving the attorney; in Paragraph D, in the title added "by a party" and after "affidavit of service", added "indicating the date and method of service"; in Paragraph E, in the first sentence, after "The filing of", deleted "pleadings and other" and after "shall note on the", deleted "form" and added "papers", deleted the former third sentence which provided that a paper filed by electronic means constituted a written paper, and added the current third sentence; and added Paragraphs H and I. The 2000 amendment, effective March 1, 2000, amended this rule to conform it with Rules 6-209 and 7-209 NMRA. Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. - 61B Am. Jur. 2d Pleading §§ 899, 901. 71 C.J.S. Pleading §§ 407 to 415.