Rule 12-206.1. Expedited appeals from children's court custody hearings.

A. Scope. This rule governs expedited appeals to the Court of Appeals from custody hearings in the children’s court under Section 32A-4-18 NMSA 1978 and Rule 10-315 NMRA of the Children’s Court Rules. The provisions of Rules 12-208 and 12- 210 NMRA shall not apply to appeals under this rule. B. Computation of time. All time periods set forth in this rule shall be construed as calendar days, and the manner of computing time set forth in Rule 12-308 NMRA for periods of less than eleven (11) days shall not apply. If the last day of a time period prescribed by this rule falls on a weekend, court holiday, or other day that the Court of Appeals is closed or unavailable for filing, the required action shall be deemed timely if taken on the next day that the Court is open and available for filing. The three (3)-day mailing period set forth in Rule 12-308 NMRA shall not apply to the time periods set forth in this rule. C. Initiating the appeal. An appeal under this rule shall be initiated by filing a declaration of expedited appeal with the Court of Appeals within five (5) days after the order appealed from is filed in the children’s court. The appellant shall pay the appropriate docket fee at the time of filing, subject to the provisions of Rules 12-304 and 23-114 NMRA. The declaration of expedited appeal shall be filed by trial counsel and shall be served on the children’s court, trial judge, trial counsel of record for each party other than the appellant, and court monitor or court reporter who took the record. D. Declaration of expedited appeal; attachments; contents. (1) Trial counsel for the appellant shall attach the following items to the declaration of expedited appeal: (a) a copy of the order appealed from; and (b) an audio recording of the custody hearing held in the children’s court under Section 32A-4-18 NMSA 1978. (2) The declaration of expedited appeal shall include the following information: (a) the name of each party taking the appeal and the name of each party against whom the appeal is taken, provided that the provisions of Rule 12-305(G) NMRA shall be followed; (b) a statement that the appellant is appealing from an order entered under Section 32A-4-18 NMSA 1978 that grants legal custody of a child to, or withholds it from, one or more of the parties named to the appeal; (c) the date of the order appealed from and a statement showing that the appeal was timely filed; (d) a concise, accurate statement of the case summarizing all facts material to a consideration of the issues presented; (e) a statement of the issues presented by the appeal, including a statement of how they arose and how they were preserved in the children’s court. The statement of the issues should be short and concise and should not be repetitious. General conclusory statements such as “the order of the children’s court is not supported by the law or the facts” will not be accepted; (f) for each issue, a list of authorities believed to support the contentions of the appellant and any contrary authorities known by the appellant and, where known, the applicable standard of review. Argument on the law shall not be included, but a short, simple statement of the proposition for which each authority is cited shall accompany the citation; and (g) a reference to all related or prior appeals. E. Record on appeal. Within one (1) day of receipt of the declaration of expedited appeal, the children’s court clerk shall electronically transmit to the Clerk of the Court of Appeals a certificate stating that a copy of all pleadings, papers, and orders filed in the case have been entered into the children’s court’s electronic case management system. The children’s court’s electronic case file, together with the audio recording submitted by trial counsel under Subparagraph (D)(1)(b) of this rule, shall constitute the record on appeal, unless the Clerk of the Court of Appeals requests the children’s court clerk to prepare and transmit the record proper under Rule 12-209 NMRA. F. Course of proceedings. (1) Initial evaluation. Within ten (10) days of the filing of the declaration of expedited appeal, the Court of Appeals shall do one of the following: (a) If it appears that the appeal is without merit, affirm the order of the children’s court in accordance with Subparagraph (F)(2) of this rule; or (b) Order the parties other than the appellant to file a response within ten (10) days of the date of the order requesting the response. (2) Disposition. (a) Time. The Court of Appeals shall dispose of the appeal within thirty (30) days of the date that the declaration of expedited appeal is filed with the Court, provided that the Court may extend the time period for disposition by up to fifteen (15) days when necessary to protect the health and safety of a child who is a subject of the underlying abuse and neglect proceeding. (b) Form. Disposition of the appeal shall be by order of the Court of Appeals, and no written explanation of the Court’s ruling shall be required. If the Court determines that a written opinion is warranted, it may issue an opinion with the order or at a later date. (c) Effect. The order of the Court of Appeals shall be effective upon filing and shall constitute the mandate. An order issued under this subparagraph shall not be subject to rehearing by the Court of Appeals or to further review by the Supreme Court under Rule 12-502 NMRA. G. Stay. Upon motion of a party or upon the Court of Appeals’ own motion, the Court may stay the order that is the subject of the appeal for good cause shown, provided that the stay shall not preclude the continuation of the proceedings in the children’s court or toll the time periods set forth in Rule 10-343 NMRA. A party to the appeal may file a response to a motion to stay within five (5) days of the filing of the motion, provided that the Court of Appeals may grant a stay prior to the filing of a response when necessary to protect the health and safety of the child. The Court shall rule on a motion to stay within ten (10) days of the date that the motion is filed.