A. A law enforcement officer who arrests a person without a warrant for a petty
misdemeanor or any offense under Chapter 17 NMSA 1978 may offer the person
arrested the option of accepting a citation to appear in lieu of taking the person to jail.
B. A citation issued pursuant to this section shall contain the name and address of
the cited person, the offense charged and the time and place to appear. The citation
may be a paper citation or an electronic version of a paper citation. Unless the person
requests an earlier date, the time specified in the citation shall be at least three days
after issuance of the citation. The law enforcement officer shall explain the person's
rights not to sign a citation, the effect of not signing the citation, the effect of signing the
citation and the effect of failing to appear at the time and place stated on the citation.
C. The person's signature on the citation constitutes a promise to appear at the time
and place stated in the citation. One copy of the citation to appear shall be delivered to
the person cited, and the law enforcement officer shall keep a duplicate copy for filing
with the court as soon as practicable.
D. A law enforcement officer who prepares a citation pursuant to this section may
use a paper citation form or an electronic citation form to record the information required
by this section. Regardless of the form of citation used, a physical copy of the citation
shall be delivered to the person cited as required by this section. An electronic citation
may be signed electronically and the law enforcement officer's copy of a citation may be
filed with the court electronically.
E. A citation issued pursuant to this section is a valid complaint if the person
receives and signs the citation in paper or electronic form.
F. It is a petty misdemeanor for a person signing a citation not to appear at the time
and place stated in the citation regardless of the disposition of the offense for which the
citation was issued. A written promise to appear may be complied with by appearance
of counsel.
History: 1953 Comp., § 41-1-6, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 73, § 4; 1987, ch. 114, § 1;
2013, ch. 197, § 1.
ANNOTATIONS
Repeals. — Laws 1972, ch. 71, § 18, repealed former 41-1-6, 1953 Comp., relating to
process issued to the sheriff.
The 2013 amendment, effective July 1, 2013, provided for the use of electronic
citations; in Subsection B, added the second sentence; added Subsection D; and in
Subsection E, after “if the person”, deleted “receiving it appears in court” and added the
remainder of the sentence.
Temporary provisions. — Laws 2013, ch. 197, § 5 provided that the department of
public safety and the motor vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department
shall develop procedures to carry out the provisions of Laws 2013, ch. 197, §§ 1 to 4.
The 1987 amendment, effective June 19, 1987, in Subsection A, inserted "or any
offense under Chapter 17 NMSA 1978" following "without a warrant a petty
misdemeanor".
No right to counsel upon issuance of citation. — A person issued a citation and
placed under custodial arrest for driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor
does not have a constitutional right to counsel immediately following a breath alcohol
test since it did not amount to initiation of judicial criminal proceedings or prosecutorial
commitment, nor was the period following administration of the test a critical stage.
State v. Sandoval, 1984-NMCA-053, 101 N.M. 399, 683 P.2d 516.
Legislative intent. — This statute is not mandatory, but the apparent legislative intent
is that citations should be issued in most petty misdemeanor cases. 1973 Op. Att'y Gen.
No. 73-46.
Law reviews. — For annual survey of New Mexico criminal procedure, see 16 N.M.L.
Rev. 25 (1986).
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 5 Am. Jur. 2d Arrest § 37 et seq.
22 C.J.S. Criminal Law § 334.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
10
cases, 1972–2019 · leading case:
Martinez v. Carr, 479 F.3d 1292 (10th Cir. 2007).
Martinez v. Carr, 479 F.3d 1292 (10th Cir. 2007).
· cites it 2× “” And, indeed, N.M. Stat. Ann. § 31-1-6 provides, in relevant part: A.”
State v. Rodarte, 2005-NMCA-141, 125 P.3d 647.
· cites it 2× “may use the uniform traffic citation, issued pursuant to procedures outlined in [NMSA 1978, § 31-1-6(B)-(E) (1987)], in lieu of taking him to jail.”
State v. Sandoval, 683 P.2d 516 (N.M. Ct. App. 1984).
· cites it 2× “NMSA 1978, § 31-1-6(A) allows a police officer who makes a warrant-less arrest for a petty misdemeanor to offer the accused the option of accepting a citation to appear in lieu of taking him to jail.”
Jackson v. New Mexico Pub. Def.'s Off., 361 F. App'x 958 (10th Cir. 2010).
“§ 30-3-1 — to which some reference appears in these pleadings) were met so as to provide Officer Sandy probable cause to arrest.”
In Re Est. of Tarlton, 500 P.2d 180 (N.M. 1972).
· cites it 6× “, 1953, where she moved to vacate the order appointing appellee as administratrix with will annexed on the grounds that appellee, an out-of-state resident, had failed to file a consent to suit form with the Secretary of State as required by § 31-1-6(B), N.M.S.A., 1953 (Pocket…”
Torres v. Sierra, 553 P.2d 721 (N.M. Ct. App. 1976).
“Defendant contends that plaintiff’s late filing of irrevocable consent, immediately before trial, under § 31-1-6(B), N.M.S.A. 1953 (Vol. 5, 1973 Supp.”
State v. Tarver, 2005-NMCA-030, 108 P.3d 1.
· cites it 2× “J Finally, NMSA 1978, § 33-1-6 (1981) sets out the duties of the secretary of corrections and includes the following: “act as state administrator, or designate a representative to act as state administrator, for any interstate correctional compacts where another person is not…”
Rush v. Strickland, 500 P.2d 180 (N.M. 1972).
· cites it 6× “, 1953, where she moved to vacate the order appointing appellee as administratrix with will annexed on the grounds that appellee, an out-of-state resident, had failed to file a consent to suit form with the Secretary of State as required by § 31-1-6(B), N.M.S.A., 1953 (Pocket…”
Holmes v. Town of Silver City Grant Cnty. New Mexico, No. 2:19-cv-00448 (D.N.M. Sept. 17, 2019).
· cites it 2× “NMSA 1978 § 31-1-6 (A), (C), (E). “New Mexico requires officers to have the motorist sign the citation(s) before being released from a traffic stop.”
Silver City v. Ferranti, No. 34,078 (N.M. Mar. 20, 2014).
· cites it 2× “, NMSA 1978, § 31-1-6(A) (2013) (“A law enforcement officer who arrests 11 a person without a warrant for a petty misdemeanor .”
N.M. Stat. § 31-1-6(A): 2 cases
State v. Sandoval, 683 P.2d 516 (N.M. Ct. App. 1984).
“NMSA 1978, § 31-1-6(A) allows a police officer who makes a warrant-less arrest for a petty misdemeanor to offer the accused the option of accepting a citation to appear in lieu of taking him to jail.”
Silver City v. Ferranti, No. 34,078 (N.M. Mar. 20, 2014).
“, NMSA 1978, § 31-1-6(A) (2013) (“A law enforcement officer who arrests 11 a person without a warrant for a petty misdemeanor .”
N.M. Stat. § 31-1-6(B): 4 cases
State v. Rodarte, 2005-NMCA-141, 125 P.3d 647.
“may use the uniform traffic citation, issued pursuant to procedures outlined in [NMSA 1978, § 31-1-6(B)-(E) (1987)], in lieu of taking him to jail.”
In Re Est. of Tarlton, 500 P.2d 180 (N.M. 1972).
“, 1953, where she moved to vacate the order appointing appellee as administratrix with will annexed on the grounds that appellee, an out-of-state resident, had failed to file a consent to suit form with the Secretary of State as required by § 31-1-6(B), N.M.S.A., 1953 (Pocket…”
Torres v. Sierra, 553 P.2d 721 (N.M. Ct. App. 1976).
“Defendant contends that plaintiff’s late filing of irrevocable consent, immediately before trial, under § 31-1-6(B), N.M.S.A. 1953 (Vol. 5, 1973 Supp.”
Rush v. Strickland, 500 P.2d 180 (N.M. 1972).
“, 1953, where she moved to vacate the order appointing appellee as administratrix with will annexed on the grounds that appellee, an out-of-state resident, had failed to file a consent to suit form with the Secretary of State as required by § 31-1-6(B), N.M.S.A., 1953 (Pocket…”
N.M. Stat. § 31-1-6(E): 1 case
State v. Tarver, 2005-NMCA-030, 108 P.3d 1.
“J Finally, NMSA 1978, § 33-1-6 (1981) sets out the duties of the secretary of corrections and includes the following: “act as state administrator, or designate a representative to act as state administrator, for any interstate correctional compacts where another person is not…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.