City of Las Vegas, NM Costs

Court fee. In addition to any amounts collected by the Municipal Court as required by the State of New Mexico or entities other than the City of Las Vegas, the Municipal Court shall collect $40 for a court fee from any person who pleads guilty to any charge; pleads no contest to any charge; is found guilty regarding any charge; or from any person or entity filing a civil complaint for violation of any City ordinance, with the following exception. No such fee shall be collected from the City Attorney for the City of Las Vegas, a municipal code enforcement officer, a municipal Fire Department employee acting in their role as such an employee, a campus security officer acting in their role as such an officer, or a full-time salaried City of Las Vegas employee, county or state law enforcement officer, when the complaint is filed on behalf of a governmental entity. The Municipal Court may grant free process to any private party upon a showing of evidence of indigence. The Municipal Court may deny free process if it finds that the complaint, on its face, fails to sufficiently state a cause of action.

[Amended 2-10-2021 by Ord. No. 21-01; 5-12-2021 by Ord. No. 21-10]

(1)

For each fee of $40 collected by the Municipal Court pursuant to § 20-13A, $20 shall specifically go to the City's general fund, $15 shall specifically be used for public safety purposes, and $5 shall specifically be used for the Municipal Court building fund.

Maximum penalty. Unless a lesser maximum penalty or a specific penalty is established by ordinance for a particular offense, the maximum penalty for violation of any City ordinance shall be as follows:

(1)

Except for those violations of ordinances described in Subsection B(2) and (3) below, of this section, a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both;

(2)

For violation of an ordinance prohibiting driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, a fine of not more than $999 or imprisonment for not more than 179 days, or both; and

(3)

For violation of an industrial user wastewater pretreatment ordinance as required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a fine of not more than $999 a day for each violation.

Mandatory fees collected upon conviction. In addition to any fine or imprisonment described in Subsection B of this section, there is imposed upon any person convicted of violating any City ordinance, the penalty for which carries a potential jail term, or violation of any ordinance under the City's Traffic Code and/or the City's Criminal Code the following mandatory fees:

[Amended 12-14-1995 by Ord. No. 84-11; 6-10-1998 by Ord. No. 86-42; 7-16-2003 by Ord. No. 03-10; 8-5-2009 by Ord. No. 09-14[1]]

(1)

A corrections fee of $20;

(2)

A judicial education fee of $3; and

(3)

A court automation fee of $6.

(4)

A person convicted of driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drug in violation of § 12-6-12.1A, B, C or D shall be assessed, in addition to any other fee or fine, a fee of $65 to defray the costs of chemical and other tests utilized to determine the influence of liquor or drug.

[1]

Editor's Note: This ordinance provided that the provisions of § 20-19C(1) and (2), below, are retroactive to 7-1-2003.

All money collected pursuant to Subsection B(1) of this section shall be deposited in a special fund in the municipal treasury and shall be used for:

[Amended 7-16-2003 by Ord. No. 03-10; 8-5-2009 by Ord. No. 09-14]

(1)

Municipal jailer or juvenile detention officer training;

(2)

The construction planning, construction, operation and maintenance of a municipal jail or juvenile detention facility;

(3)

Paying the cost of housing municipal prisoners in a county jail or detention facility or housing juveniles in a detention facility;

(4)

Complying with match or contribution requirements for the receipt of federal funds relating to jails or juvenile detention facilities;

(5)

Providing inpatient treatment or other substance abuse programs in conjunction with or as an alternative to jail sentencing;

(6)

Defraying the cost of transporting prisoners to jails or juveniles to juvenile detention facilities; or

(7)

Providing electronic monitoring system.

A municipality may credit the interest collected from fees deposited in the special fund pursuant to Subsection D of this section to the municipality's general fund.

[Added 7-16-2003 by Ord. No. 03-10; amended 8-5-2009 by Ord. No. 09-14]

All money collected pursuant to Subsection C(2) of this section shall be remitted monthly to the State Treasurer for credit to the judicial education fund and shall be used for the education and training, including production of bench books and other written materials, of municipal judges and other municipal court employees.

[Amended 7-16-2003 by Ord. No. 03-10; 8-5-2009 by Ord. No. 09-14]

All money collected pursuant to Subsection C(3) of this section shall be remitted monthly to the State Treasurer for credit to the municipal court automation fund and shall be used for the purchase and maintenance of court automation systems in the municipal courts. The court automation systems shall have the capability of providing, on a timely basis, electronic records in a format specified by the Judicial Information Systems Council.

[Amended 7-16-2003 by Ord. No. 03-10; 8-5-2009 by Ord. No. 09-14]

As used in this section, "convicted" means the defendant has been found guilty of a criminal charge by a Municipal Judge, either after trial, a plea of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere.

[Added 7-16-2003 by Ord. No. 03-10; amended 8-5-2009 by Ord. No. 09-14]