New Mexico Statutes

N.M. Stat. § 31-9-1.4 (2026)

Determination of competency; incompetent defendants.

✓ current as of May 2026

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If at any time the district court determines that there is not a substantial probability
that the defendant will be restored to competency within nine months from the date the
court determined the defendant is not competent to stand trial, the district court may:

A. hold a criminal commitment hearing in accordance with Section 31-9-1.5 NMSA
1978 within three months if the defendant is charged with:

(1) murder in the first or second degree, as provided in Section 30-2-1 NMSA
1978;

(2) a felony involving infliction of great bodily harm, as defined in Section 30-
1-12 NMSA 1978, on another person;

(3) criminal sexual penetration, as provided in Section 30-9-11 NMSA 1978;

(4) criminal sexual contact of a minor, as provided in Section 30-9-13 NMSA
1978;

(5) abuse of a child, as provided in Subsection D of Section 30-6-1 NMSA
1978;

(6) a crime provided for in the Sexual Exploitation of Children Act [Chapter 30,
Article 6A NMSA 1978];

(7) human trafficking, as provided in Section 30-52-1 NMSA 1978;

(8) aggravated arson, as provided in Section 30-17-6 NMSA 1978; or

(9) any "serious violent offense" enumerated in Subparagraphs (a) through
(n) of Paragraph (4) of Subsection L [N] of Section 33-2-34 NMSA 1978 with the use of
a firearm;

B. release the defendant from custody and dismiss the criminal case with prejudice;
or
C. dismiss the criminal case without prejudice in the interest of justice; provided that
if the treatment supervisor reports to the court that the defendant satisfies the criteria for
involuntary commitment in accordance with the Mental Health and Developmental
Disabilities Code [Chapter 43, Article 1 NMSA 1978], the department of health shall
initiate those proceedings, and the court may order the defendant confined for a
maximum of seven days to facilitate the initiation of those proceedings; and provided
further that the district attorney may initiate involuntary commitment proceedings in the
department's stead.

History: 1978 Comp., § 31-9-1.4, enacted by Laws 1988, ch. 107, § 5 and by Laws
1988, ch. 108, § 5; 1993, ch. 240, § 5; 1993, ch. 249, § 5; 1999, ch. 149, § 3; 2025, ch.
4, § 5.

ANNOTATIONS

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not
part of the law. Laws 2025, ch. 79, § 4 and Laws 2025, ch. 29, § 1 amended 33-2-34
NMSA 1978, relettering subsections, effective June 20, 2025.

Cross references. — For rule of criminal procedure governing defenses of insanity,
incompetency, and lack of capacity, see Rule 5-602 NMRA.

The 2025 amendment, effective June 20, 2025, clarified certain language related to
competency proceedings for defendants who have been found not competent to stand
trial, and revised the list of crimes for which the district court may hold criminal
commitment hearings for defendants who have been found not competent to stand trial;
in the introductory clause, after "defendant will", deleted "become competent to proceed
in a criminal case within a reasonable period of time not to exceed nine months from the
date of the original finding of incompetency" and added "be restored to competency
within nine months from the date the court determined the defendant is not competent
to stand trial", in Subsection A, after the subsection designation, deleted "hear the
matter pursuant to" and added "hold a criminal commitment hearing in accordance
with", after "the defendant is charged with", deleted the remainder of the subsection,
and added Paragraphs B(1) through B(9); and in Subsection C, after "to facilitate the
initiation of", deleted "a petition pursuant to the Mental Health and Developmental
Disabilities code. The district court may refer the defendant to the district attorney for
possible initiation of proceedings under the Mental Health and Developmental
Disabilities Code" and added "those proceedings; and provided further that the district
attorney may initiate involuntary commitment proceedings in the department's stead.".

The 1999 amendment, effective June 18, 1999, substituted "nine months" for "one
year" in the introductory paragraph, rewrote Subsection A which read: "set the matter
for hearing pursuant to Section 31-9-1.5 NMSA 1978", and added the second sentence
in Subsection C.
The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, rewrote the section to the extent that a
detailed comparison is impracticable. This section was also amended by Laws 1993, ch.
240, § 5, effective June 18, 1993. The section was set out as amended by Laws 1993,
ch. 249, § 5. See 12-1-8 NMSA 1978.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 16 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1990–2025 · leading case: State v. Rotherham, 923 P.2d 1131 (N.M. 1996).

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State v. Rotherham, 923 P.2d 1131 (N.M. 1996). · cites it 48× “On April 27, 1992, Martinez filed a motion to compel election pursuant to Section 31-9-1.4. On July 15, the court found that Martinez remained incompetent to stand trial and that he was not likely to attain such competency in one year or the foreseeable future.”

State v. Trujillo, 206 P.3d 125 (N.M. 2009). · cites it 10× “Thus, when considered alongside the addition of language to Section 31-9-1.4(0, the Section 31-9-1.6 deletion is not dispositive of legislative intent and may only represent a housekeeping deletion of a provision the Legislature deemed superfluous.”

State v. Chavez, 174 P.3d 988 (N.M. 2007). · cites it 3× “In such cases, the court may criminally commit the defendant, pursuant to Sections 31-9-1.4(A) and 31-9-1.5; release the defendant and dismiss the charges with prejudice, pursuant to Section 31 — 9—1.”

Sharris v. Commonwealth, 106 N.E.3d 661 (Mass. 2018). · cites it 2× “§ 2C:4-6 ; N.M. Stat. Ann. § 31-9-1.4 ; N.C. Gen. Stat.”

State v. Gallegos, 802 P.2d 15 (N.M. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 5× “Section 31-9-1.4 gives the state three choices when faced with an incompetent, dangerous defendant who is not likely to attain competency within a year.”

State v. Trujillo, 2007 NMCA 056 (N.M. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 2× “Under Section 31-9-1.4, if a court “determines that there is not a substantial probability that the defendant will become competent to proceed in a criminal case” within a certain time frame, the court may dismiss the charges or, if the defendant is charged with certain…”

State v. Taylor, 8 P.3d 863 (N.M. Ct. App. 2000). “See §§ 31-9-1.4(A), -1.5 (hereinafter “Section 1.”

State v. Werner, 796 P.2d 610 (N.M. Ct. App. 1990). “3 and an evidentiary hearing on the issue of defendant’s guilt of the crimes charged pursuant to NMSA 1978, Sections 31-9-1.4(A) and -1.5(A) (Cum.Supp.”

State v. Holbert, 556 P.3d 603 (N.M. Ct. App. 2024). “See § 31-9-1.4(B) (permitting the district court to “dismiss with prejudice” if “at any time the district court determines that there is not a substantial probability that the defendant will become competent to proceed in a criminal case within a reasonable period of time not to…”

State v. Quintana, 446 P.3d 1168 (N.M. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 2× “Section 31-9-1.4. The process for criminal commitment under the NMMIC was described in State v.”

State v. Gamboa-Soto (N.M. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 4× “2 does not allow for dismissal with prejudice, this Court should invoke the right for any reason doctrine and conclude that the district court’s decision was still proper under NMSA 1978, Section 31-9-1.”

State v. Trujillo, 160 P.3d 577 (N.M. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 2× “Under Section 31-9-1.4, if a court "determines that there is not a substantial probability that the defendant will become competent to proceed in a criminal case" within a certain time frame, the court may dismiss the charges or, if the defendant is charged with certain…”

Show all 16 citing cases →

— N.M. Stat. § 31-9-1.4(0) — 2 cases

State v. Trujillo, 206 P.3d 125 (N.M. 2009). “Thus, when considered alongside the addition of language to Section 31-9-1.4(0, the Section 31-9-1.6 deletion is not dispositive of legislative intent and may only represent a housekeeping deletion of a provision the Legislature deemed superfluous.”

State v. Rotherham, 923 P.2d 1131 (N.M. 1996). “On April 27, 1992, Martinez filed a motion to compel election pursuant to Section 31-9-1.4. On July 15, the court found that Martinez remained incompetent to stand trial and that he was not likely to attain such competency in one year or the foreseeable future.”

— N.M. Stat. § 31-9-1.4(A) — 6 cases

State v. Chavez, 174 P.3d 988 (N.M. 2007). “In such cases, the court may criminally commit the defendant, pursuant to Sections 31-9-1.4(A) and 31-9-1.5; release the defendant and dismiss the charges with prejudice, pursuant to Section 31 — 9—1.”

State v. Taylor, 8 P.3d 863 (N.M. Ct. App. 2000). “See §§ 31-9-1.4(A), -1.5 (hereinafter “Section 1.”

State v. Gallegos, 802 P.2d 15 (N.M. Ct. App. 1990). “Section 31-9-1.4 gives the state three choices when faced with an incompetent, dangerous defendant who is not likely to attain competency within a year.”

— N.M. Stat. § 31-9-1.4(B) — 4 cases

State v. Rodgers (N.M. Ct. App. 2024).

— N.M. Stat. § 31-9-1.4(C) — 4 cases

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.