Municipal Court Automation Program

In 1994, the New Mexico State Legislature enacted legislation establishing the Municipal Court Automation Fund (MCAF):

• NMSA 34-9-12 created the Municipal Court Automation Fund. The fund is administered by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) for the purpose of “purchasing, maintaining and operating” court automation systems in municipal courts;
• NMSA 35-14-11 requires that municipalities assess and remit fees, including the $6 automation fee that funds the MCAF. (Repealed effective 7/1/2024)

Municipal courts are funded by their respective municipalities and are not part of the state court system (although the Supreme Court has superintending authority over them).

Disposition Reporting

Municipal courts are required to report DWI dispositions in an electronic format specified by the Judicial Information Systems Council (JIFFY) from September 1991 forward. This date is three years prior to program inception and is based on state records retention guidelines (ref. Fern Goodman, AOC General Counsel).

Initially only convictions were reported, but now all DWI dispositions are reported. JIFFY added the requirement to report dismissal and not-guilty verdicts in September 2000; the requirement was upheld by the New Mexico Supreme Court in 2010 (Order 10-8500).

Only historic domestic violence dispositions are currently reported; 2002 legislation increased penalties for Battery Against a Household Member, thus taking domestic violence out of the jurisdiction of municipal courts.