Fewer legal topics in New Mexico cause confusion and backlash like pre-trial detention or preventative detention.  In a nutshell, when the Court grants pre-trial detention, a Defendant will be stay in the county jail until their trial date.  In a series of posts I’ll trace the history of how this process came about in the last two years and what needs to be proven by the State.  At the root of this process is a case State v. Brown in which Mr. Brown was held in county jail for over two years awaiting trial due to a high monetary bond and the Court refusing to  set any other conditions of pre-trial release.  In a lengthy opinion by the NM Supreme Court, the Court ruled that the district court erred in setting such a high monetary bond based on the accusations of the crime alone.  The Court opined that the State of New Mexico should move away from monetary bonds and after this case the justices lobbied to do just that.  Future posts will discuss the how preventative detention works.  If you have a family member that is being detained before a trial contact this office at 505-247-9500 for a free consultation.  This post does not constitute legal advice and should not be taken as such and does not create an attorney/client relationship.  Should you have any questions about pre-trial detention you should contact a lawyer.