Media

The right of a criminal defendant to receive a fair trial and the right of the press to publish information about a defendant or criminal act are both guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Both are valuable and important rights. These two safeguards, however, can conflict when pretrial publicity has the potential to prejudice a potential jury pool, and ultimately deprive a defendant, a victim, or the people of a fair and just trial.

There are specific rules mandated by the New Mexico Supreme Court that provide guidelines on what information can be legally allowed to be shared with the media and with the public. These rules have been specifically implemented to preserve a defendant's, victim's, and the public's right to a fair and just trial. In determining what information may be released to the media, the Third Judicial District Attorney's office is guided by the New Mexico State Supreme Court rules of Professional Conduct; Trial publicity 16-306 (a-d), (1-7), Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor, 16-308 (F) of the New Mexico Rules Annotated which may limit the amount, timing, or detail of information released.