Constitution of New Mexico (2025 publisher edition) — ARTICLE II

Publisher edition notice: This collection preserves the complete Secretary of State's 2025 compilation, identifying amendments through 2024, including the publisher's source notes and annotations. Later amendments have not been independently verified.

ARTICLE II

ARTICLE II Bill of Rights Sec. 1. Supreme law of the land. 2. Popular sovereignty. 3. Right of self-government. 4. Inherent rights. 5. Rights under Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo preserved. 6. Right to bear arms.

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3© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article II – Bill of Rights Sec. 7. Habeas corpus. 8. Freedom of elections. 9. Military power subordinate; quartering of soldiers. 10. Searches and seizures. 11. Freedom of religion. 12. Trial by jury; less than unanimous ver- dicts in civil cases. 13. Bail; excessive fines; cruel and unusual punishment. 14. Indictment and information; grand juries; rights of accused. 15. Self-incrimination; double jeopardy. 16. Treason. 17. Freedom of speech and press; libel. 18. Due process; equal protection; sex dis- crimination. 19. Retroactive laws; bills of attainder; im- pairment of contracts. 20. Eminent domain. 21. Imprisonment for debt. 23. Reserved rights. 24. Victim's rights. Section 1. [Supreme law of the land.] The state of New Mexico is an insepara- ble part of the federal union, and the consti- tution of the United States is the supreme law of the land.

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4© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article II – Bill of Rights Sec. 2. [Popular sovereignty.] All political power is vested in and de- rived from the people: all government of right originates with the people, is founded upon their will and is instituted solely for their good. Sec. 3. [Right of self-government.] The people of the state have the sole and exclusive right to govern themselves as a free, sovereign and independent state. Sec. 4. [Inherent rights.] All persons are born equally free, and have certain natural, inherent and inalien- able rights, among which are the rights of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing and protecting prop- erty, and of seeking and obtaining safety and happiness. Sec. 5. [Rights under Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo preserved.] The rights, privileges and immunities, civil, political and religious guaranteed to the people of New Mexico by the Treaty of

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5© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article II – Bill of Rights Guadalupe Hidalgo shall be preserved invi- olate. Sec. 6. [Right to bear arms.] No law shall abridge the right of the cit- izen to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and recreational use and for other lawful purposes, but noth- ing herein shall be held to permit the carry- ing of concealed weapons. No municipality or county shall regulate, in any way, an in- cident of the right to keep and bear arms. (As amended November 2, 1971 and No- vember 2, 1986.) Sec. 7. [Habeas corpus.] The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall never be suspended, unless, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety re- quires it. Sec. 8. [Freedom of elections.] All elections shall be free and open, and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.

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6© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article II – Bill of Rights Sec. 9. [Military power subordinate; quartering of soldiers.] The military shall always be in strict subordination to the civil power; no soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war except in the manner pre- scribed by law. Sec. 10. [Searches and seizures.] The people shall be secure in their per- sons, papers, homes and effects, from un- reasonable searches and seizures, and no warrant to search any place, or seize any person or thing, shall issue without describ- ing the place to be searched, or the persons or things to be seized, nor without a written showing of probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation. Sec. 11. [Freedom of religion.] Every man shall be free to worship God according to the dictates of his own con- science, and no person shall ever be mo- lested or denied any civil or political right or privilege on account of his religious opinion or mode of religious worship. No

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7© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article II – Bill of Rights person shall be required to attend any place of worship or support any religious sect or denomination; nor shall any preference be given by law to any religious denomination or mode of worship. Sec. 12. [Trial by jury; less than unanimous verdicts in civil cases.] The right of trial by jury as it has hereto- fore existed shall be secured to all and re- main inviolate. In all cases triable in courts inferior to the district court the jury may consist of six. The legislature may provide that verdicts in civil cases may be rendered by less than a unanimous vote of the jury. Sec. 13. [Bail; excessive fines; cruel and unusual punishment.] All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great and in situations in which bail is specifically prohibited by this section. Excessive bail shall not be re- quired, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted. Bail may be denied by a court of record pending trial for a defendant charged with a

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8© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article II – Bill of Rights felony if the prosecuting authority requests a hearing and proves by clear and convinc- ing evidence that no release conditions will reasonably protect the safety of any other person or the community. An appeal from an order denying bail shall be given prefer- ence over all other matters. A person who is not detainable on grounds of dangerousness nor a flight risk in the absence of bond and is otherwise el- igible for bail shall not be detained solely because of financial inability to post a money or property bond. A defendant who is neither a danger nor a flight risk and who has a financial inability to post a money or property bond may file a motion with the court requesting relief from the requirement to post bond. The court shall rule on the mo- tion in an expedited manner. (As amended November 4, 1980, November 8, 1988, and November 8, 2016.) Sec. 14. [Indictment and information; grand juries; rights of accused.] No person shall be held to answer for a capital, felonious or infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury or information filed by a district attor-

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9© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article II – Bill of Rights ney or attorney general or their deputies, except in cases arising in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger. No person shall be so held on in- formation without having had a preliminary examination before an examining magis- trate, or having waived such preliminary examination. A grand jury shall be composed of such number, not less than twelve, as may be prescribed by law. Citizens only, residing in the county for which a grand jury may be convened and qualified as prescribed by law, may serve on a grand jury. Concurrence nec- essary for the finding of an indictment by a grand jury shall be prescribed by law; pro- vided, such concurrence shall never be by less than a majority of those who compose a grand jury, and, provided, at least eight must concur in finding an indictment when a grand jury is composed of twelve in number. Until otherwise prescribed by law a grand jury shall be composed of twelve in num- ber of which eight must concur in finding an indictment. A grand jury shall be convened upon order of a judge of a court empowered to try and determine cases of capital, feloni- ous or infamous crimes at such times as to him shall be deemed necessary, or a grand

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10© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article II – Bill of Rights jury shall be ordered to convene by such judge upon the filing of a petition therefor signed by not less than the greater of two hundred registered voters or two percent of the registered voters of the county, or a grand jury may be convened in any addi- tional manner as may be prescribed by law. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right to appear and defend himself in person, and by counsel; to de- mand the nature and cause of the accusa- tion; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have the charge and testi- mony interpreted to him in a language that he understands; to have compulsory process to compel the attendance of necessary wit- nesses in his behalf, and a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county or district in which the offense is alleged to have been committed. (As amended No- vember 4, 1924, effective January 1, 1925, November 4, 1980, and November 8, 1994.) Sec. 15. [Self- incrimination; double jeopardy.] No person shall be compelled to testify against himself in a criminal proceeding, nor shall any person be twice put in jeop-

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11© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article II – Bill of Rights ardy for the same offense; and when the indictment, information or affidavit upon which any person is convicted charges dif- ferent offenses or different degrees of the same offense and a new trial is granted the accused, he may not again be tried for an offense or degree of the offense greater than the one of which he was convicted. Sec. 16. [Treason.] Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war against it, adhering to its enemies, or giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason un- less on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. Sec. 17. [Freedom of speech and press; libel.] Every person may freely speak, write and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury; and

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12© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article II – Bill of Rights if it shall appear to the jury that the mat- ter charged as libelous is true and was pub- lished with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted. Sec. 18. [Due process; equal protection; sex discrimination.] No person shall be deprived of life, lib- erty or property without due process of law; nor shall any person be denied equal protection of the laws. Equality of rights under law shall not be denied on account of the sex of any person. The effective date of this amendment shall be July 1, 1973. (As amended November 7, 1972, effective July 1, 1973). Sec. 19. [Retroactive laws; bills of attainder; impairment of contracts.] No ex post facto law, bill of attainder nor law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be enacted by the legislature. Sec. 20. [Eminent domain.] Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use without just com- pensation.

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13© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article II – Bill of Rights Sec. 21. [Imprisonment for debt.] No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any civil action. Sec. 23. [Reserved rights.] The enumeration in this constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny, impair or disparage others retained by the people. Sec. 24. [Victim's rights.] A. A victim of arson resulting in bodily injury, aggravated arson, aggravated as- sault, aggravated battery, dangerous use of explosives, negligent use of a deadly weapon, murder, voluntary manslaugh- ter, involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping, criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contact of a minor, homicide by vehicle, great bodily injury by vehicle or abandon- ment or abuse of a child or that victim's rep- resentative shall have the following rights as provided by law: (1) the right to be treated with fair- ness and respect for the victim's dignity and privacy throughout the criminal justice process;

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14© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article II – Bill of Rights (2) the right to timely disposition of the case; (3) the right to be reasonably protected from the accused throughout the criminal justice process; (4) the right to notification of court pro- ceedings; (5) the right to attend all public court proceedings the accused has the right to at- tend; (6) the right to confer with the prosecu- tion; (7) the right to make a statement to the court at sentencing and at any post- sentencing hearings for the accused; (8) the right to restitution from the per- son convicted of the criminal conduct that caused the victim's loss or injury; (9) the right to information about the conviction, sentencing, imprisonment, es- cape or release of the accused; (10) the right to have the prosecuting attorney notify the victim's employer, if re- quested by the victim, of the necessity of the victim's cooperation and testimony in a court proceeding that may necessitate the absence of the victim from work for good cause; and (11) the right to promptly receive any property belonging to the victim that is be-

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15© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article III – Distribution of Powers ing held for evidentiary purposes by a law enforcement agency or the prosecuting at- torney, unless there are compelling eviden- tiary reasons for retention of the victim's property. B. A person accused or convicted of a crime against a victim shall have no stand- ing to object to any failure by any person to comply with the provisions of Subsection A of Section 24 of Article 2 of the constitution of New Mexico. C. The provisions of this amendment shall not take effect until the legislature enacts laws to implement this amendment. (As added November 3, 1992.)