New Mexico Supreme Court adopts new rules for sealing records

The New Mexico Supreme Court has adopted a uniform set of rules that will dictate when court records can be sealed, including a presumption that the records are public, the El Defensor Chieftain reported.

Beginning on July 1, records that are not automatically sealed by statute can only be sealed by court order. Specific identifying information, like Social Security numbers, will be redacted from the files. Only the portion of the record with sensitive information will be sealed, the rest will remain open to the public.

Prior to the adoption of these rules on Feb. 24, the different branches of New Mexico’s court system did not use a uniform system for sealing records. The revised rules will govern both criminal and civil court proceedings.