Republican Party of New Mexico and Lynott

Summary

The New Mexico Supreme Court held that, although the dispute over the requested driver's-license records was arguably moot, it would decide the scope of executive privilege under the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) because the issue presents a substantial public interest. The Court held that New Mexico recognizes a limited, constitutionally based executive communications privilege — confined to communications concerning the Governor's decisionmaking on core constitutional duties, authored or solicited and received by the Governor or an immediate adviser, and invocable only by the Governor — and that no common law deliberative process privilege exists under New Mexico law. The Court also held that the common law 'rule of reason' no longer supplies a basis for withholding records under IPRA, overruling conflicting cases, and it declined to reach the Privacy Acts issue, leaving that portion of the Court of Appeals' opinion undisturbed.