Rule 5-302.3. Citizen grand jury proceedings.

A. Citizen petition to convene a grand jury. Under Article II, Section 14 of the New Mexico Constitution, the district court shall order a grand jury to convene on the filing of a petition to investigate criminal conduct or malfeasance proscribed by state law that is signed by not less than the greater of two-hundred (200) registered voters or two percent of the registered voters of the county. A petitioner may use Form 9-200 NMRA. B. Duties of the district court. The district court must make both a factual determination that a citizen petition to convene a grand jury meets the procedural requirements of Article II, Section 14 and a legal determination that the petition seeks a legitimate inquiry into alleged criminal conduct or malfeasance proscribed by state law (1) Verification of petition. The district court must verify the signatures contained in the petition. The district court may verify the signatures by any number of methods, including but not limited to: (a) requiring each signatory to provide an address of record; (b) verifying other identifying information such as dates of birth and social security numbers; (c) a handwriting comparison by a qualified witness; or (d) obtaining testimony from questionable signatories. (2) Validity of petition. The petition to convene a grand jury must identify with reasonable specificity the alleged criminal conduct or unlawful malfeasance to be investigated. The district court must determine whether the petition seeks to investigate conduct that lies within the permissible scope of grand jury inquiry. If the petition does not reasonably specify alleged conduct that, if true, would warrant a true bill of indictment, the district court must deny the petition. C. Assistance of prosecuting attorney. On the filing of the petition, the district court shall assign the district attorney or the district attorney’s assistants, unless otherwise disqualified, to assist the district court in notifying the target of the grand jury petition and, if the grand jury is convened, in carrying out the duties of the grand jury. D. Notice to target; timing. If a target of the potential grand jury investigation is identifiable in the citizen petition, the prosecuting attorney assisting the district court shall use reasonable diligence to notify the target in writing no later than thirty (30) days before the scheduled hearing on the validity of the petition. Target notices shall be substantially in the form approved by the Supreme Court. The writing shall notify the target of (1) the existence of a citizen petition to convene a grand jury to investigate the target for an alleged crime; (2) the nature of the crime alleged in the petition; (3) the date of the alleged crime; (4) any applicable statutory citations; (5) the target’s right to intervene; (6) the target’s right to testify in a subsequent grand jury proceeding; (7) the target’s right not to testify in a subsequent grand jury proceeding; (8) the target’s right to submit exculpatory evidence to the district attorney for presentation to the grand jury in a subsequent grand jury proceeding; and (9) the target’s right to the assistance of counsel during a subsequent grand jury investigation. E. Opportunity to intervene. Before ruling on the validity of the grand jury petition, the district court shall permit any identifiable target of a grand jury investigation initiated by petition to intervene in the matter. F. Convening a citizen-petition grand jury. If the district court determines both that the petition meets the procedural requirements of Article II, Section 14 and seeks to investigate reasonably specific alleged criminal conduct or unlawful malfeasance, the court shall convene a grand jury in accordance with Sections 31-6-1 to -15 NMSA 1978, unless the district court elects to submit the matter to a grand jury that has already been convened, and shall direct the grand jury to make inquiry into all potential violations of law described in the petition that the judge determines are proper subjects of grand jury investigation, under Section 31-6-9 NMSA 1978.