New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 10 - PUBLIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT › Chapter 5 - STATE POLICE › Part 500 - ADJUDICATORY PROCEEDINGS FOR COMMISSIONED NEW MEXICO STATE POLICE OFFICERS PURSUANT TO NMSA 1978, SECTION 29-2-11C › Section 10.5.500.15 - DEPOSITIONS, INSPECTION OF DEPARTMENT FILES AND DISQUALIFICATIONS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
The hearing officer may, subject to the rules of privilege
				  and confidentiality recognized by law, require the furnishing of information,
				  the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, records, papers and
				  other objects necessary and proper for the purposes of the proceeding.
A. The parties may take depositions of
				witnesses, including the parties, within or without the state, in the same
				manner as provided by law for taking depositions under the rules of civil
				procedure for the district courts, and they may be used in the same manner and
				to the same extent as permitted in the district court.
B. The hearing officer may issue subpoenas
				requiring, upon reasonable notice, the attendance and testimony of witnesses
				and the production of any evidence, including books, records, correspondence or
				documents relating to any matter in question in the proceeding.
C. The form of the subpoena shall adhere,
				insofar as practicable, to the form used in civil actions in the district
				courts. Witnesses summoned, unless they are employees of the department, shall
				be paid the same fees for attendance and travel as in civil actions in the
				district courts unless otherwise provided by law. Service of subpoenas shall be
				in accordance with the rules of civil procedure for the district
				courts.
D. The parties are entitled
				as of right to the issue of subpoenas in the name of the commission. The
				parties shall present a written request to the hearing officer for the issuance
				of the subpoena and he shall issue the subpoenas requested. The subpoena shall
				show on its face the name and address of the party at whose request the
				subpoena was issued. The cost and fees for attendance of witnesses shall be
				born by the party that summoned the witness.
E. Any witness summoned may petition the
				hearing officer, or if the hearing officer denies the petitioner's requested
				relief, the first judicial district court to vacate or modify the subpoena
				served on the witness.
F. In the
				case of disobedience to any subpoena issued and served under this section or
				for refusal of any person to produce any thing or to testify to any matter
				regarding which he may be interrogated lawfully under the rules of evidence,
				the parties or the hearing officer may apply to the first judicial district
				court for an order to compel compliance with the subpoena. The district court
				shall hear the matter as expeditiously as possible. If the disobedience or
				refusal is found to be unlawful, the district court shall enter an order
				requiring compliance in full or as modified and order whatever relief justice
				may require. Disobedience of the court order shall be punished as contempt of
				the district court in the same manner and by the same procedure as provided for
				like conduct committed in the course of judicial proceedings.
G. Department files and records, including
				but not limited to investigation reports, statements, memoranda,
				correspondence, or other data pertaining to the proceeding shall be made
				available for inspection and copying by the parties prior to any hearing. If
				the department asserts that any such information contained in the department's
				files and records should not be made available for any reason of
				confidentiality or privilege recognized by law, the question shall be
				determined by the hearing officer, upon application by the party requesting the
				information and after a hearing on the matter following reasonable notice to
				the parties. The hearing officer's ruling, if it is one that requires
				disclosure, is immediately appealable to the first judicial district court
				which shall hear the matter as expeditiously as possible.
H. Any hearing officer or commissioner shall
				withdraw from any proceedings in which he cannot accord a fair and impartial
				hearing or consideration.
(1) Any party may
				request a disqualification of any hearing officer or commissioner on the
				grounds of the person's inability to be fair and impartial by filing an
				affidavit with the commission promptly upon the discovery of the alleged
				grounds for disqualification, stating with particularity the grounds which it
				is claimed that the person cannot be fair and impartial.
(2) The disqualification shall be mandatory
				if sufficient factual basis is set forth in the affidavit.
(3) The commission shall promptly appoint a
				fair and impartial replacement for the hearing officer disqualified. If a
				commission member is disqualified, that commissioner shall not take part in the
				proceedings. If the replacement hearing officer is disqualified, or in any
				other case not otherwise provided for, a replacement shall be appointed by a
				justice of the New Mexico supreme court.