Form 10-725, Search warrant – New Mexico

Form 10-725, Search warrant, is the New Mexico Judicial Branch form, marked for use with Rule 10-215 NMRA, by which a district judge in Children's Court commands an officer to search a person or place described in an affidavit and to seize the person or property found.

The single document has three parts:

• Search Warrant. The judge states that the Proof by Affidavit for Search Warrant satisfies him or her that there is probable cause and that grounds exist for issuing the warrant. The warrant commands a search between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. and directs the officer to serve it with a copy of the affidavit, to hold anything seized for safekeeping until further order of the court, to prepare a written inventory and to file the return and inventory promptly.
• Authorization for Night Time Search. A separate block in which the judge finds reasonable cause and describes why a search outside those hours is necessary.
• Return and Inventory. The officer records when the warrant was received and executed, whom a copy and a receipt were left with, the property taken, and who witnessed the inventory. A closing statement covers the case where nothing was found.

The form is headed with the State of New Mexico, county, judicial district and Children's Court caption. Its Use Note says either this form or the form approved for search warrants in adult criminal proceedings may be used in the children's court. The form was previously numbered 10-412.

The form is used in New Mexico Children's Court cases by the people the form itself names:

• The district judge completes and signs the Search Warrant, dates it and, when a night time search is justified, completes and signs the Authorization for Night Time Search.
• The officer authorized to execute the warrant is the person the warrant is addressed to. The officer completes the Return and Inventory, prepares the written inventory and signs it.
• The owner of the property, the person searched, or another credible person is named as the person given a copy of the warrant and a receipt, and signs as witness to the inventory. If the owner is not available, the form allows another credible person to witness it.
• A judge or clerk completes the line certifying when the return was made.

The Use Note allows a choice: either Form 10-725 or the form approved for search warrants in adult criminal proceedings may be used in the children's court. The form does not say who may apply for a warrant or who may prepare the affidavit; the warrant rests on a Proof by Affidavit for Search Warrant submitted to the judge.

The form comes into play after a Proof by Affidavit for Search Warrant has been submitted to the district judge and the judge is satisfied there is probable cause; the judge then signs and dates the warrant. The warrant directs the search to take place between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., unless the judge has specifically authorized a night time search in the Authorization for Night Time Search block. After the search, the officer's return and written inventory must be filed with the court promptly after execution. The form gives no fixed number of days, no expiration period for the warrant and no other deadline.

Form 10-725 is issued by a district judge and the completed return is filed with the court; the form names no portal, mailing address or office. Details it does state:

• Issuing the warrant: the judge signs and dates the warrant, and a copy of the affidavit is attached and made part of it.
• Serving the warrant: the officer serves the warrant together with a copy of the affidavit.
• Filing the return: the officer files the return and the written inventory with the court promptly after the warrant is executed. The return line is completed by a judge or clerk.

For the court's filing address, hours or any local requirements, contact the court handling the Children's Court case. The New Mexico Courts forms library at https://nmcourts.gov/forms-library/ lists Supreme Court approved forms by category, including Children's Court and Criminal. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the court's channels.