SANTA FE, NM – New Mexico Courts launched a new website to provide the public with an improved user experience and a fresh, new look. The website is nmcourts.gov.
“We really focused on understanding the needs of the public,” said Cassandra Hayne, Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) Chief Technology Officer. “The new website is more intuitive and makes finding information easier. People often go to our website for specific reasons, and now they should find what they need faster.”
Included on the main homepage are navigation tiles –blocks with images and links – that readily offer options most people are looking for, such as information about serving on a jury, self-representation, or paying fines. The tiles and the top menu bar have a standard look and feel with court-specific information. For example, all court webpages have a tile linking people to a schedule of court dockets. The Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court webpage includes access to virtual hearings, while the Eleventh Judicial District also includes a tile with information about Justice Stations in the Farmington, Gallup and Aztec area that allow people to appear remotely in a court hearing.
New features on the website include:
● Judicial districts and individual courts are clearly organized and presented.
● Webpages are clearly marked in the upper left, with prompts to alert visitors when they navigate to a specific judicial court or program.
● A robust search engine to help people quickly find what they are looking for on the website, including the ability to search for a court by zip code, county, or court name.
● Go to the main homepage from anywhere on the website by pressing the logo in the upper left corner.
“One of the best improvements to the website is a more mobile-friendly interface,” said AOC Director Artie Pepin. “Most people are using smartphones to come to our website so it’s important to have a product that delivers a better viewing experience on their phone.”
The website, designed by Astriata, also has a new color palette and pictures of courthouses and New Mexico landscapes throughout. A website banner photo contest was held judiciarywide last summer to find the captivating photo for the main homepage. Out of 81 entries, the Supreme Court voted on the top five and Monica Rodriguez from the Second Judicial District Court had the winning photo of Abiquiu Lake.
“This photo was taken in July of 2022 when the world was collectively rebounding from the pandemic,” said grand prize winner Monica Rodriguez. “It amazed me that nature did not seem to notice the human impact of a tiny virus on humanity. The sunshine and the reflections of the sky on water are eternal.”
Please visit nmcourts.gov to find schedules of hearings in courts across the state, to request an interpreter, and access self-representation resources.