New Mexico: Juvenile Court Records and Law Enforcement Records (NM-AR-1)

A record relating to a delinquency petition will be sealed and the court will vacate its findings, orders, and judgments. N.M. Stat. Ann. § 32A-2-26(A).

Record Detail(s)

All charges

Previous Conviction Disqualifying

Potentially, see statute

Mandatory / Discretionary

Mandatory

Hearing

No statutory language

Clearance Process

By petition or court's own motion

Remedy

Vacate

Ineligible Category or Citation

A person is not eligible for expungement if he or she has, within the two years immediately prior to filing the motion, been convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or been found delinquent by a court or has a pending proceeding seeking such a conviction or finding. N.M. Stat. Ann. § 32A-2-26(A)(2).

Procedure General

A motion to request sealing must be filed with the court. The motion must include a request to seal law enforcement files and records, if petitioner wishes to have those records sealed in addition to the court records. N.M. Stat. Ann. § 32A-2-26(A). For the specific procedure, see § 32A-2-26(B).

Fees

There is no statutory language regarding fees.

Effect

The records subject to the sealing order include legal and social files, the records of the court, probation services, any other agency in the case, and if requested, law enforcement files and records. N.M. Stat. Ann. § 32A-2-26(A). Upon the entry of the order, the proceedings in the case will be treated as if they never occurred and all index references will be deleted. The court, law enforcement officers and departments, and agencies will reply, and the person can reply, to an inquiry that no record exists with respect to the person. N.M. Stat. Ann. § 32A-2-26(C).

Waiting Periods

The record can be sealed two years after release from custody and supervision or after the entry of any other judgment not involving legal custody and supervision, if the juvenile has reached age 18, or the court finds that good cause exists to seal the records before the person reaches 18. N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 32A-2-26(A)(1), (3).

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