If you sue someone for damages when they breach a contract or fail to pay a promissory note, the Rules of Civil Procedure for the District Court apply. If you are indicted by a grand jury for a felony crime in state court, the Rules of Criminal Procedure for the District Court apply. If you are an attorney in New Mexico and become the subject of an ethical complaint contained in a Specification of Charges, The Rules Governing Discipline apply.

Rules of Procedure Govern Civil And Criminal Cases

In both civil and criminal situations, the Rules of Procedure for those kinds of cases are fully articulated and comprehensive. But not so when it comes to attorney discipline matters. Some of the Rules Governing Discipline are different from either the civil or criminal Rules of Procedure. But there is one most curiously worded Rule that says, effectively, except where clearly inapplicable in disciplinary proceedings, the Rules of Civil Procedure shall be used in formal disciplinary proceedings. Rule 17-301.B.

What Rules of Civil Procedure are Applicable in Discipline Proceedings? - No One’s Saying!

So the question becomes, what Rules of Civil Procedure for the District Courts are, in fact, applicable? (more…)