2021 New Mexico Statutes
Part 2 - Special Rules for Proceeding to Adjudicate Parentage
Section 40-11A-621 - Admissibility of results of genetic testing; expenses.

A. Except as otherwise provided in Subsection C of this section, a record of a genetic-testing expert is admissible as evidence of the truth of the facts asserted in the report unless a party objects, in a writing delivered to the adverse party, to the record's admission within fourteen days after its receipt by the objecting party. The objecting party shall cite specific grounds for exclusion. The admissibility of the report is not affected by whether the testing was performed:
(1) voluntarily or pursuant to an order of the district court or a support-enforcement agency; or
(2) before or after the commencement of the proceeding.
B. A party objecting to the results of genetic testing may call one or more genetic-testing experts to testify in person or by telephone, videoconference, deposition or another method approved by the district court. Unless otherwise ordered by the district court, the party offering the testimony bears the expense for the expert testifying.
C. If a child has a presumed, acknowledged or adjudicated father, the results of genetic testing are inadmissible to adjudicate parentage unless performed:
(1) with the consent of both the mother and the presumed, acknowledged or adjudicated father; or
(2) pursuant to an order of the district court pursuant to Section 5-502 of the New Mexico Uniform Parentage Act.
D. Copies of bills for genetic testing, for child birth and for prenatal and postnatal health care for the mother and child that are furnished to the adverse party not less than ten days before the date of a hearing are admissible to establish:
(1) the amount of the charges billed; and
(2) that the charges were reasonable, necessary and customary.
History: Laws 2009, ch. 215, § 6-621.
Effective dates. — Laws 2009, ch. 215, § 20 made the New Mexico Uniform Parentage Act effective January 1, 2010.
Admissibility of opinion testimony based on blood testing. — The human leukocyte antigen and red blood cell test procedures, together with the evidence of statistical probabilities drawn therefrom, are admissible as evidence in disputed paternity actions when a proper evidentiary foundation is established. State ex rel. Human Servs. Dep't v. Coleman, 1986-NMCA-074, 104 N.M. 500, 723 P.2d 971.
Foundation for admission of scientific evidence. — A prerequisite to eliciting scientific or specialized opinion testimony is a showing that the witness is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, training or education in the area in which the opinion is sought to be given and that the witness has sufficient facts upon which to accurately formulate his opinion. State ex rel. Human Servs. Dep't v. Coleman, 1986-NMCA-074, 104 N.M. 500, 723 P.2d 971.
Conclusiveness of evidence based on serologic testing. — Although scientific evidence based upon serologic testing is admissible in an action to establish paternity, this evidence, together with expert opinion testimony derived from the test results, is not conclusive upon the fact finder. State ex rel. Human Servs. Dep't v. Coleman, 1986-NMCA-074, 104 N.M. 500, 723 P.2d 971.
Law reviews. — Annual Survey of New Mexico Family Law, see 17 N.M.L. Rev. 291 (1987).

Structure 2021 New Mexico Statutes