Jury Duty Pay in New Mexico

About Jury Duty in New Mexico

New Mexico ties juror pay to the state minimum wage under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 38-5-15 — jurors are compensated at $12.00/hour (the highest prevailing state minimum wage as of January 2023). For a standard 8-hour court day, this equates to approximately $96/day, making New Mexico one of the more generous states for juror compensation. The widely-cited $7.50 figure is a pre-2009 relic with no basis in current law.

How Jury Pay Works

Jurors are compensated at the state minimum wage rate for time in attendance and service. Mileage is reimbursed only for travel exceeding 40 miles round-trip — a notably restrictive threshold. Employers cannot retaliate or require use of leave for jury duty under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 38-5-18.

The Rural Distance Challenge

New Mexico’s geography poses unusual challenges for jury service. Some rural jurors travel 150+ miles round-trip across desert highways to reach the county courthouse. In Catron County (population ~3,500, area nearly 7,000 square miles), a juror might drive two hours each way. The minimum-wage hourly rate helps offset this, but the 40-mile threshold for mileage reimbursement means some jurors receive no travel compensation despite significant distances.

Native American Jurisdictional Complexity

New Mexico contains 23 Native American tribes and pueblos, including the Navajo Nation (spanning parts of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah). This creates overlapping jurisdictional systems — tribal courts, state courts, and federal courts — that add complexity to jury service in New Mexico that doesn’t exist in most other states.

Employer Obligations

New Mexico employers are not required to pay wages during jury service but cannot retaliate or require employees to use leave. The state’s large government sector (Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, military bases) typically continues salary. Workers in tourism, agriculture, and the service economy have no such protection.

How New Mexico Compares

New Mexico’s minimum-wage-tied system is unusual and generally more generous than the flat daily rates used by most states. At approximately $96/day (8-hour day), it significantly exceeds Arizona’s $12/day, Colorado’s $50/day, and even federal jury pay at $50/day. This makes New Mexico a surprising outlier — a state with one of the most progressive juror compensation structures hidden behind an outdated $7.50 figure still cited in many comparison tables.

Statute: N.M. Stat. Ann. § 38-5-15 — Official source