Form 10-726, Bench warrant – New Mexico

Form 10-726, Bench warrant, is the New Mexico Children's Court warrant that orders any officer authorized to execute it to arrest a named child and bring the child forthwith before the court to answer the charges checked on the form. It is marked "For use with Rule 10-215 NMRA."

The form is published by the New Mexico Judicial Branch among its Supreme Court approved forms, in the Children's Court category of the court forms library, which covers juvenile cases. It was adopted by Supreme Court Order No. 10-8300-046, effective February 14, 2011. Form 10-412A was recompiled and amended as 10-726 by Supreme Court Order No. 16-8300-017, effective for all cases pending or filed on or after December 31, 2016.

One document holds three parts:

• The warrant itself, which identifies the child, states the charges and carries the District Judge's signature line.
• A Return, completed when the child is arrested and taken into custody, noting that the local juvenile probation officer was contacted.
• A Probation Officer Determination, recording whether the child was released on conditions or detained, or whether authorization was given by telephone.

The charges listed are failure to appear, failure to comply with the conditions of release imposed by the court, and failure to comply with the conditions of probation imposed by the court. The form is a Children's Court warrant: its caption reads "In the Matter of ..., a Child."

The form is used in New Mexico Children's Court cases, where the caption names a child. The people who handle it, as the form is laid out, are:

• The District Judge, who signs the warrant above the line marked "District Judge."
• The officer who executes the warrant. The command is addressed to any officer authorized to execute it, and the Return is signed by the officer or deputy after the child is arrested and taken into custody.
• The local juvenile probation officer, who is contacted on arrest and completes the Probation Officer Determination, signing with a title and date.
• The court clerk and the parties' offices, which receive copies under the distribution instructions: court file, police or sheriff's office, district attorney, probation department and the child's attorney.

The form is not a general-purpose warrant: it is written for a child, and the printed grounds are limited to the three charges listed. Whoever completes it should use the court's own rules, including Rule 10-215 NMRA, for questions about when a warrant may issue.

The form is completed when the court orders a child's arrest on one of the grounds printed on it: failure to appear (with the hearing or event named on the form), failure to comply with the conditions of release imposed by the court, or failure to comply with the conditions of probation imposed by the court. No separate due date is printed on it.

The Return and the Probation Officer Determination are filled in later, after the child is arrested and taken into custody, with the day, month and year of the arrest and the local juvenile probation officer's determination of whether the child was released on conditions or detained.

The form names no filing portal, mailing address or fee. It gives distribution instructions instead: one copy each goes to the court file, the police or sheriff's office, the district attorney, the probation department and the child's attorney.

• Court file: the original or one copy stays in the Children's Court case file.
• Law enforcement: one copy goes to the police or sheriff's office that will execute the warrant.
• Prosecution and defense: one copy goes to the district attorney and one to the child's attorney.
• Probation: one copy goes to the probation department.

Ask the clerk of the district court handling the case how the signed warrant is delivered. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission and distribution follow the court's own channels.