New Mexico Legal Overview: Albuquerque The Albuquerque metropolitan area in New Mexico is defined by the Census Bureau as covering Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance and Valencia counties. New Mexico is divided into 13 judicial districts, with each district serving one or more counties. The district courts are the main trial courts with general jurisdiction. The major cities may additionally have probate courts and municipal courts with limited jurisdiction over city ordinance violations, misdemeanors and traffic offenses. The main cities in the Albuquerque metro area are listed below.
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1. Bernalillo County, which includes the city of Albuquerque, is served by the Second Judicial District. The Bernalillo County District Court, located at the county courthouse in Albuquerque, has general jurisdiction over all criminal and civil cases filed in the county. The court’s criminal division handles felony prosecutions, while the civil division has jurisdiction over everything from personal injury lawsuits to medical malpractice claims, landlord-tenant evictions, real estate disputes, taxes, student loans, and so on. The Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court in Albuquerque has limited jurisdiction over city ordinance violations, misdemeanors and traffic violations.
Trending Legal Topics: Appeals against verdicts handed down by the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court may be filed with the district court. Appeals against district court verdicts must be filed with the New Mexico Court of Appeals, which has offices in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The New Mexico Supreme Court in Santa Fe is the court of last resort. Federal cases are filed with the Albuquerque Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. Federal appeals in New Mexico go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. |