A petition initiating proceedings pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 32A, Article 2, 3B, 4 or 6 NMSA 1978 shall be entitled, "In the Matter of ............, a child", and shall set forth with specificity:

A. the facts necessary to invoke the jurisdiction of the court;

B. if violation of a criminal statute or other law or ordinance is alleged, the citation to the appropriate law;

C. the name, birth date and residence address of the child;

D. the name and residence address of the parents, guardian, custodian or spouse, if any, of the child; and if no parent, guardian, custodian or spouse, if any, resides or can be found within the state or if a residence address is unknown, the name of any known adult relative residing within the state or, if there be none, the known adult relative residing nearest to the court;

E. whether the child is in custody or detention pursuant to the Delinquency Act [Chapter 32A, Article 2 NMSA 1978] and, if so, the place of custody or detention and the time the child was taken into custody;

F. whether the child is an Indian child; and

G. if any of the matters required to be set forth by this section are not known, a statement of those matters and the fact that they are not known.

History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-1-11, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 20; 2005, ch. 189, § 6.

Cross references. — For the Supreme Court approved form, see Children's Court Rule 10-101 NMRA.

The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, provided in Subsection E that a petition shall set forth whether the child is in custody or detention pursuant to the Delinquency Act and the place of custody or detention.

Decisions under prior law. — In light of the similarity of the provisions, annotations decided under former Section 32-1-19 NMSA 1978 have been included in the annotations to this section.

Neglect proceeding without final judgment does not bar termination proceeding. — Since neglect proceedings do not result in a final judgment on the merits, the department is not barred under the "judgments" rule from later bringing termination proceedings. In re Doe, 1982-NMCA-115, 98 N.M. 442, 649 P.2d 510, overruled by State v. Roper, 1996-NMSA-073, 122 N.M. 126, 921 P.2d 322.

Petition held insufficient. — Petition alleging that child had committed a delinquent act but not alleging that the child was in need of care or rehabilitation was insufficient to confer jurisdiction upon the children's court, since delinquency requires a showing that both elements exist. In re Doe, 1975-NMCA-002, 87 N.M. 170, 531 P.2d 218 (decided under prior law).

Law reviews. — For comment, "The Freedom of the Press vs. The Confidentiality Provisions in the New Mexico Children's Code," see 4 N.M.L. Rev. 119 (1973).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 47 Am. Jur. 2d Juvenile Courts and Delinquent and Dependent Children § 36 et seq.

43 C.J.S. Infants §§ 93, 99.