Opinion ID: 2761478
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Constitutional Right to Bail in New Mexico

Text: {19} The New Mexico Constitution affords criminal defendants a right to bail in Article II, Section 13, which provides that “[a]ll persons shall, before conviction be bailable by sufficient sureties” and that “[e]xcessive bail shall not be required.” These provisions were first incorporated into the written law of territorial New Mexico when Brigadier General Stephen Kearny promulgated the Kearny Bill of Rights in 1846. See Kearny Bill of Rights, cl. 9 (1846, reprinted in Vol. 1 of NMSA 1978) (“[A]ll persons shall be bailed by sufficient sureties, except in capital offenses where proof of guilt is evident.”); Kearny Bill of Rights, cl. 10 (“[E]xcessive bail shall not be required.”). Article II, Section 13 enshrines the principle that a person accused of a crime is entitled to retain personal freedom “until adjudged guilty by the court of last resort.” Tijerina, 1968-NMSC-009, ¶ 9; see Bandy v. United States, 81 S. Ct. 197, 197 (1960) (“The fundamental tradition in this country is that one charged with a crime is not, in ordinary circumstances, imprisoned until after a judgment of guilt.”). {20} Notwithstanding the presumption that all persons are bailable pending trial, the right to bail “is not absolute under all circumstances.” Tijerina, 1968-NMSC-009, ¶ 9. Article II, Section 13 contains two exceptions that restrict the right to bail as to certain persons. First, the district court may deny bail altogether to a person charged with a capital offense if “the proof is evident or the presumption great.” N.M. Const. art. II, § 13. Second, the district court may deny bail for a period of sixty days after the incarceration of the defendant by an order entered within seven days after the incarceration, in the following instances: A. the defendant is accused of a felony and has previously been convicted of two or more felonies, within the state, which felonies did not arise from the same transaction or a common transaction with the case at bar; B. the defendant is accused of a felony involving the use of a deadly weapon and has a prior felony conviction, within the state. The period for incarceration without bail may be extended by any period of time by which trial is delayed by a motion for a continuance made by or on behalf of the defendant. Id. A court cannot refuse to set bail and detain a defendant pending trial under either of these exceptions without first providing the defendant with adequate procedural due process protections, including the right to counsel, notice, and an opportunity to be heard. See David, 1984-NMCA-119, ¶ 23 (citing Tijerina, 1968-NMSC-009). {21} Once released, a defendant’s continuing right to pretrial liberty is conditioned on the defendant’s appearance in court, compliance with the law, and adherence to the conditions of pretrial release imposed by the court. See Rule 5-403(A) NMRA (providing that the court may revoke release “upon a showing that the defendant has been indicted or bound over for trial on a charge constituting a serious crime allegedly committed while released pending 7 adjudication of a prior charge”); State v. Segura, 2014-NMCA-037, ¶ 8, 321 P.3d 140 (explaining that the court may revoke bail to ensure “the proper administration of justice” or “for violation of a condition of pretrial release” (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)). Accordingly, if a defendant fails to appear in court, commits additional crimes, or violates conditions of pretrial release, the court may, upon notice and hearing, revoke the defendant’s release and remand the defendant into custody. See Tijerina, 1968-NMSC-009, ¶ 11 (noting that due process requires “notice and an opportunity to be heard before bond can be revoked and a defendant remanded to custody”); Segura, 2014-NMCA-037, ¶ 23 (concluding that the state has the burden of establishing facts to support a revocation of bail and that the defendant has a due process right to contest the state’s evidence). But cf. State v. Romero, 2006-NMCA-126, ¶¶ 1-2, 140 N.M. 524, 143 P.3d 763 (holding that a bail bond may be forfeited for failure to appear but not for violation of other conditions of release), aff’d, 2007-NMSC-030, ¶ 6, 141 N.M. 733, 160 P.3d 914. Under all other circumstances, the New Mexico Constitution requires that “[a]ll persons shall . . . be bailable by sufficient sureties” and that “[e]xcessive bail shall not be required.” N.M. Const. art. II, § 13.