Court Opinion

ID: 9551096
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:47:43.678999+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:23:03.978187
License: Public Domain

RIORDAN, Justice (dissenting). I cannot concur with the majority. While I agree with Justice Stowers’ dissent, I believe that it is important to note, as did the Court of Appeals, that Chief Wisniewski and Captain Wyatt did not know of the discovery order and it had never been served on either of them. In regard to former District Attorney McCormick’s conduct, my review of the transcript of the contempt proceedings convinces me that he did everything in his power to comply with the discovery order. Therefore, to assure publication of the Court of Appeals’ opinion, I adopt, with the following exception, that opinion also as my dissent. The Court of Appeals seems to leave open the question of whether or not the “three-day mailing rule” applies to filing of a notice of appeal. NMSA 1978, Crim., Child.Ct., Dom.Rel. & W/C App. Rule 302(b) (Repl.Pamp.1983) reads as follows: Additional time after service by mail. Whenever a party is required or permitted to do an act within a prescribed period after service of a paper upon him and the paper is served by mail, 3 days shall be added to the prescribed period. (Emphasis added.) I believe that when a jurisdictional act, i.e. filing notice of appeal, filing petition for certiorari, or filing a motion for rehearing, is required to be filed by a certain date, it must be received by the Clerk of the Court by that date. It has been so construed since the rules were adopted. There are no reported cases directly on point because they have either been refused for filing by the Clerk or dismissed by order when called to the Court’s attention. The “three-day rule” only applies to briefs and motions. Indeed, in order to clarify the issue, we have begun to include that language as the affected rules are amended. See NMSA 1978, Civ.App.R. 28, (Repl.Pamp. 1984); NMSA 1978, Crim., Child.Ct., Dom. Rel. & W/C App.R. 603, (amended effective October 1, 1985). Apparently we will have to change additional rules to assure that it is clear that when something must be filed, that it must be received by the deadline and there is no three extra days.