N.M. Sup. Ct. Order No. 22-8500-040

1 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

2 December 30, 2022

3 NO. 22-8500-040

4 IN THE MATTER OF BRIEFING

5 DEADLINES FOR THE LAW OFFICES OF

6 THE PUBLIC DEFENDER AND OFFICE

7 OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

8 ORDER

9 WHEREAS, the Law Offices of the Public Defender informed the Court via

10 letter dated December 6, 2022, of a significant case overload as a result of a

11 combination of factors, including a large number of attorney vacancies, lack of

12 contract counsel, and increased duties for appellate defenders;

13 WHEREAS, the Court met with representatives from the Law Offices of the

14 Public Defender and the Office of the Attorney General to discuss briefing deadlines

15 under the Rules of Appellate Procedure for cases in which the parties to the

16 proceeding were represented by the Law Offices of the Public Defender and Office

17 of the Attorney General, which resulted in general agreement that an automatic

18 extension order would be in the best interest of judicial efficiency; and

19 WHEREAS, in light of the foregoing, and the Court having concluded that it

20 would be appropriate to provide for automatic extensions of briefing deadlines

21 consistent with the agreement of the representatives, and being otherwise

sufficiently advised, Chief Justice C. Shannon Bacon, Justice Michael E. Vigil, 1

Justice David K. Thomson, Justice Julie J. Vargas, and Justice Briana H. Zamora 2

concurring; 3

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the following policy is hereby 4

ADOPTED and shall apply to al l cases in which the parties are represented by the 5

Law Offices of the Public Defender and the Office of the Attorney General; 6

1. For all cases in which a general calendar notice is filed on or after 7

January 3, 2023, and only in cases in which the appellant is represented 8

by the Law Offices of the Public Defender, the forty-five (45) -day 9

deadline for filing briefs in chief under Rule 12-210(C)(2) NMRA shall 10

be replaced with a one hundred twenty (120) day-deadline. Any 11

request for additional time beyond the one hundred twenty (120) days 12

must be filed by the assigned attorney, will be viewed with disfavor, 13

and must present exceptional circumstances other than the normal press 14

of business; 15

2. For all cases in which a briefing schedule is filed on or after January 3, 16

2023, and only in cases in which the petitioner is represented by the 17

Law Offices of the Public Defender, the brief in chief shall be due in 18

one hundred twenty (120) days. Any request for additional time 19

beyond the one hundred twenty (120) days must be filed by the assigned 20

attorney, will be viewed with disfavor, and must present exceptional 21

circumstances other than the normal press of business; 22

3. For all cases in which a general calendar notice is filed on or af ter 23

January 3, 2023, briefs in chief in cases in which the appellant is 24

represented by the Office of the Attorney G eneral, answer briefs filed 25

by either appellant or appellee, and reply briefs filed by either appellant 26

or appellee shall be due in accordance with the regular deadlines under 27

Rule 12-210(C)(2) NMRA; 28

4. For all cases in which a briefing order is filed on or after January 3, 1

2023, briefs in chief in cases in which the petitioner is represented by 2

the Office of the Attorney General, answer briefs fi led by either 3

petitioner or respondent, and reply briefs filed by either petitioner or 4

respondent shall be due in accordance with the deadlines provided in 5

the briefing order; 6

5. For all cases in which a general calendar notice or a briefing order is 7

filed in a cross appeal or in cases in which a cross petition for writ of 8

certiorari has been granted, the deadline for the briefs in chief shall be 9

one hundred twenty (120) days from either the filing of the general 10

calendar notice or from the filing of the briefing order; 11

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that all cases in which contract counsel is 13

substituted in place of the Law Offices of the Public Defender shall continue to 14

proceed in accordance with the regular briefing deadlines and procedures set forth 15

in the Rules of Appellate Procedure and in any briefing orders issued by this Court; 16

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED t hat briefing in all other cases by the Law 17

Offices of the Public Defender and Office of the Attorney General shall proceed in 18

accordance with the Rules of Appellate Procedure or as otherwise ordered by the 19

Court; 20

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that cases subject to this order shall be stayed 21

for the length of extra time the Law Offices of the Public Defender has to brief its 22

cases under the policy set forth above, so that the standing extensions do not affect 23

the Court’s performance measures; and 24

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that representatives shall update the Chief Clerk 1

of Court and the Chief Deputy Clerk of Court about the continued need for a standing 2

extension order in six (6) months from the date of this order, and every six (6) months 3

thereafter, for as long as this order remains in effect. 4

IT IS SO ORDERED. 5

WITNESS, the Honorable C. Shannon Bacon, Chief 6

Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New Mexico, 7

and the seal of said Court this 30th day of December 2022. 8