NM Bar New Mexico Constitutional Law 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the New Mexico Constitution, how many members serve on the New Mexico Supreme Court?
- Five justices (Correct answer)
- Seven justices
- Nine justices
- Three justices
Correct answer: Five justices
The New Mexico Supreme Court consists of five justices as established by Article VI of the New Mexico Constitution.
Question 2: The New Mexico Constitution's equal rights provision in Article II, Section 18 provides broader protections than the federal Equal Protection Clause in what key way?
- It expressly prohibits discrimination based on sex (Correct answer)
- It covers private actors as well as government actors
- It applies strict scrutiny to all classifications
- It grants the legislature unlimited power to remedy inequalities
Correct answer: It expressly prohibits discrimination based on sex
Article II, Section 18 of the New Mexico Constitution explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, a protection not expressly stated in the Fourteenth Amendment.
Question 3: Under New Mexico constitutional law, the 'Blaine Amendment' in Article XII, Section 3 primarily restricts:
- Public funds from being used to support sectarian schools (Correct answer)
- Prayer in public school classrooms
- Home schooling without state approval
- Religious symbols in courtrooms
Correct answer: Public funds from being used to support sectarian schools
New Mexico's Blaine Amendment prohibits the use of public money for the support of any sectarian, denominational, or private school.
Question 4: A New Mexico statute imposes a tax exclusively on out-of-state corporations. Under which provision of the New Mexico Constitution would this most likely be challenged?
- Article II equal protection clause
- Article IV legislative power limits
- Article VIII uniformity of taxation clause (Correct answer)
- Article IX corporate regulation provision
Correct answer: Article VIII uniformity of taxation clause
Article VIII, Section 1 of the New Mexico Constitution requires taxes to be uniform upon the same class of subjects, making discriminatory tax classifications vulnerable to challenge.
Question 5: Under New Mexico Constitution Article II, Section 15, the privilege against self-incrimination applies to:
- Criminal proceedings only
- Any proceeding where testimony is compelled (Correct answer)
- Federal proceedings only
- Civil proceedings only
Correct answer: Any proceeding where testimony is compelled
New Mexico courts have interpreted Article II, Section 15 to protect against compelled self-incrimination in any proceeding, not just criminal cases.
Question 6: New Mexico's constitutional provision on water rights is found in Article XVI and establishes which foundational doctrine?
- Prior appropriation (Correct answer)
- Riparian rights
- Correlative rights
- Public trust doctrine
Correct answer: Prior appropriation
Article XVI of the New Mexico Constitution adopts the prior appropriation doctrine, providing that water belongs to the public and is subject to appropriation for beneficial use based on priority.
Question 7: Under the New Mexico Constitution, a veto by the Governor may be overridden by the Legislature by what vote?
- Two-thirds of members elected to each house (Correct answer)
- Three-fifths of members present and voting
- Simple majority of members present in each house
- Three-fourths of members elected to each house
Correct answer: Two-thirds of members elected to each house
Article IV, Section 22 requires a two-thirds vote of the members elected to each house to override a gubernatorial veto.
NM Bar New Mexico Constitutional Law 2
Under the New Mexico Constitution, how many members serve on the New Mexico Supreme Court?