Except for contempt of the magistrate court, penalty assessment misdemeanors or offenses that do not prescribe incarceration as a penalty, the right to trial by jury exists in all actions in the magistrate court that are within magistrate trial jurisdiction.

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Terms Used In New Mexico Statutes 35-8-1

  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.