


                               CONSTITUTION OF THE   
                               STATE OF NEW MEXICO   
                             ADOPTED JANUARY 21, 1911
                            (AS AMENDED THROUGH 1974)

                                    PREAMBLE         

          We, the people of New  Mexico, grateful to Almighty God  for
          the blessings of liberty, in order to secure the  advantages
          of a state government, do ordain and establish this  Consti-
          tution.

                                   ARTICLE II

                                 BILL OF RIGHTS

 Sec. 1.  The State of New Mexico is an inseparable part of the Feder-
          al Union, and the Constitution  of the United States is  the
          supreme law of the land.

Sec. 2.   All political power  is vested in and derived from the  peo-
          ple, all government of right originates with the people,  is
          founded upon their will  and is instituted solely  for their
          good.

Sec. 3.   The people of the state have the sole and exclusive right to
          govern  themselves  as  a  free,  sovereign  and independent
          state.

Sec. 4.   All persons are born equally free, and have certain natural,
          inherent and inalienable rights, among which are the  rights
          of enjoying  and defending  life and  liberty, of acquiring,
          possessing and protecting property,  and of seeking and  ob-
          taining safety and happiness.

Sec. 5.   The rights, privileges and immunities, civil, political  and
          religious  guaranteed  to  the  people  of New Mexico by the
          Treaty of Guadeloupe  Hidalgo shall be  preserved inviolate.
          (ADOPTED BY TH PEOPLE NOV. 2, 1971)

Sec. 6.   No  law shall abridge the right  of the citizen to keep  and
          bear arms for security  and defense, for lawful  hunting and
          recreational use and for other lawful purposes, but  nothing
          herein shall  be held  to permit  the carrying  of concealed
          weapons.

Sec. 7.   The privilege  of the  writ of habeas corpus  shall never be
          suspended, unless,  in case  of rebellion  or invasion,  the
          public safety requires it.

Sec. 8.   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.

Sec. 9.   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 prescribed by law.

Sec. 10.  The people shall  be secure in their persons, papers,  homes
          and effects, from unreasonable searches and seizures, and no
          warrant to search any place,  or seize any person or  thing,
          shall issue without describing the place to be searched,  or
          the  person  or  things  to  be seized, nor without probable
          cause, supported by oath or affirmation.

Sec. 11.  Every man shall be free to worship God according to the dic-
          tates of  his own  conscience, and  no person  shall ever be
          molested or denied  any civil or  political right or  privi-
          lege on account of his religious opinion or mode of  religi-
          ous worship. No 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.  The  right  of trial  by jury  as it  has heretofore existed
          shall be secured to all  and remain inviolate. In all  cases
          triable in courts  inferior to the  district court the  jury
          may consist of  six. The legislature  may provide that  ver-
          dicts in civil cases may  be rendered by less than  a unani-
          mous vote of the jury.

Sec. 13.  All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, except
          for capital offenses when the  proof is evident or the  pre-
          sumption great.  Excessive bail  shall not  be required, nor
          excessive fines imposed,  nor cruel and  unusual punishments
          inflicted. (ADOPTED BY THE PEOPLE NOV. 4, 1924)

Sec. 14.  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 attorney  or
          attorney general  or their  deputies, except  in cases aris-
          ing in the militia when in actual service in time of war  or
          public danger.   No person shall  be so held  on information
          without having had a  preliminary examination before an  ex-
          amining magistrate, or having waived such preliminary  exam-
          ination. 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
          the grand jury. Concurrence necessary 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 major-
          ity 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 number of which eight  must concur in finding an  indict-
          ment.  A grand jury shall be convened upon order of a  judge
          of a court empowered to try and determine cases of  capital,
          felonious or infamous crimes at  such times as to him  shall
          be deemed  necessary, or  a grand  jury shall  be ordered to
          convene by such judge upon  the filing of a petition  there-
          for signed by not less than seventy-five resident tax payers
          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 demand the  na-
          ture and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with  the
          witnesses against him; to have the charge and testimony  in-
          terpreted to him in a language he understands; to have  com-
          pulsory process to compel  the attendance of necessary  wit-
          nesses in his behalf, and a speedy public trial by an impar-
          tial jury of the county or district in which the offense  is
          alleged to have been committed.

Sec. 15.  No person shall be compelled to testify against himself in a
          criminal proceeding, nor  shall any person  be twice put  in
          jeopardy for the same offense; and when the indictment,  in-
          formation or  affidavit upon  which any  person is convicted
          charges different 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 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 unless  on
          the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or  on
          confession in open court.

Sec. 17.  Every person may freely speak, write and publish his  senti-
          ments on all  subjects, being responsible  for the abuse  of
          that right;  and no  law shall  be passed  to restrain or a-
          bridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all  crimi-
          nal prosecutions for libels, the truth may be given in  evi-
          dence to the jury; and if  it shall appear to the jury  that
          the matter  charged as  libelous is  true and  was published
          with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party  shall
          be acquitted. (ADOPTED BY THE PEOPLE NOV. 7, 1972)

Sec. 18.  No  person shall  be deprived of  life, liberty 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.

Sec. 19.  No ex post  facto law, bill of attainder, nor  law impairing
          the obligation of contracts shall be enacted by the legisla-
          ture.

Sec. 20.  Private  property shall not be  taken or damaged for  public
          use without just compensation.

Sec. 21.  No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any civil  action.
          (ADOPTED BY THE PEOPLE SEPT. 20, 1921)

Sec. 22.  Until  otherwise  provided by  law no  alien, ineligible  to
          citizenship under the  laws of the  United States, or  corp-
          oration, co-partnership  or association,  a majority  of the
          stock or interest in which is owned or held by such  aliens,
          shall acquire title, lease hold  or other interest in or  to
          real estate in New Mexico.

Sec. 23.  The enumeration in this Constitution of certain rights shall
          not be construed to deny, impair or disparage others retain-
          ed by the people.




