Sandoval County
Situated in north-central New Mexico, Sandoval County occupies approximately 3714 square miles of area with about 154,000 residents. The county was organized in 1903, and the county seat is Bernalillo.
The Thirteenth Judicial District of the New Mexico Courts serves residents and corporations in Sandoval County. The court operates a District Court and a Magistrate Court within the county. Both courts hold jury trials, but while the District Court is a court of general jurisdiction, the Magistrate Court has limited jurisdiction. The District Court hears cases involving estates, contracts, real property rights, and tort. It has exclusive jurisdiction over cases relating to mental health and domestic relations. Appeals for lower courts and administrative agencies, civil cases, criminal matters, and misdemeanors are exclusively under the District Court, which also exercises sole jurisdiction on juvenile cases.
The Magistrate Court in Sandoval County hears cases relating to contract, misdemeanor, felony (preliminary hearing), tort, DWI/DUI, and landlord/tenant rights in which the disputed amount does not exceed $10,000. Sandoval County also has a Probate Court, whose jurisdiction is limited and presides over informal, uncontested probate matters. This court primarily handles cases relating to decedents' wills and estates and appointing special administrators.
Records gathered during case filing/hearing in each court in Sandoval County are public records unless sealed or tagged confidential/sensitive. Everyone can inspect and/or obtain the county's public court records from the Clerk's Office in the courts where such cases were filed. Generally, records of civil, criminal, probate, and juvenile cases are available for public inspection at the clerks' offices. Alternatively, interested persons can file public records requests for Sandoval County public court records using the IRPA Online Request Form. The New Mexico State Judiciary also provides a Case Lookup Portal that allows anyone to search records of cases within the state's judicial system, including those filed/heard in Sandoval County.
