John J. Ross - William C. Blakley Law Library
Arizona State University College of Law
Maricopa County Municipal and Justice Court Information and Rules by Rose Gavin
Table of Contents
Introduction
A lot of the every day work of the court system is done at the municipal and justice court level. Municipal courts are courts established by an incorporated city or town. A.R.S. §22-401 Every incorporated city or town in Arizona must have an municipal court, although a city or town may enter into an inter-governmental agreement for court services with a nearby city within the same county or with the justice court which has the city within its jurisdiction. A.R.S. §22-402 The judges and hearing officers in a city or town court are either employees of the city or town or are hired on a contract basis. Justice courts are county courts presided over by elected justices of the peace who hold four (4) year terms of office. A.R.S. §22-102
Matters Handled in Municipal Courts
These courts handle:
- Criminal misdemeanor violations of Arizona law occurring within city limits
Justice courts have concurrent jurisdiction with city courts -- maximum jail time of 6 months and maximum fine of $2,500
- Civil traffic violations of Arizona law
- Civil and criminal violations of the city's own ordinances
-
Orders of protection
You can access detailed case information for some Municipal Courts within Maricopa County at the Arizona Supreme Court's "Public Access to Court Case Information" website:
http://www.supreme.state.az.us/publicaccess/
Click on the "List of Courts Included" link to view coverage.
Matters Handled in Justice of the Peace Courts
These courts handle:
- Criminal misdemeanor violations of Arizona law occuring within the justice court precinct
Justice courts have concurrent jurisdiction with city courts -- maximum jail time of 6 months and maximum fine of $2,500
- Civil traffic violations of Arizona law
- Civil and misdemeanor criminal violations of any county ordinances
- Felony criminal case preliminary hearings
- Orders of protection
- Civil actions when the amount involved is $10,000.00 or less
- Forcible entry and detainer actions when the amount involved is $10,000.00 or less
You can access Maricopa County Justice Court Information at this website:
http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/justiceCourts
Among the various items included here are court calendars, descriptions of procedure, fee schedules, contact information for the various courts, biographies of judges, newsletters and news releases.
Online Access to Court Rules
Different rules apply depending upon the kind of case a court is handling. For example, a criminal misdemeanor trial will use the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, while a civil traffic violation hearing is governed by the Rules of Procedure in Civil Traffic Violation Cases. Other rules, such as the Rules of Evidence, will apply during certain court hearings. Access to all these rules is avialable:
http://www.supreme.state.az.us/rules/
Click on the "Current Rules" link and then "more Arizona rules" if you do not see the rules you need. When you select the rules that you want to read or print, you will be prompted to fill out an online survey form before the text of the rules will display on your screen.
Court Web Sites
- Avondale Muncipal Court
http://az-avondale.civicplus.com/index.asp?NID=87
Court's address, telephone number, hours, name of judge and general information about the court.
- Buckeye Magistrate Court
http://www.buckeyeaz.org/html/towndepts/departments/magistrate.html
Contains the court's address, telephone number, hours, and the name of the town magistrate. Information about the costs to issue and serve Orders of Protection and Injunctions of Harassment also found here.
- Carefree Municipal Court
http://carefree.org is the town's web site. The best way to get to the court's page is to startat the city's page and click on the "court" link. This page contains the court's telephone number and hours and describes the court's jurisdiction. No physical or mailing address is given for the court on this page.
- Cave Creek
http://www.cavecreek.org/index.asp?ID=8
Site gives a short description of the court's judges and other court personnel. Telephone numbers and court hours are here, but no physical or mailing address given for the court until you click on the "Violation Codes" link on the left side of the page, and hten click on either "Option 2" or "Option 3". The violation codes and standard fines for the most common traffic offenses can be found here as well. You will also find computer forms here that can be filled in via the computer (You will have to print them out and mail or fax them to the court). An e-mail address for the court administrator/civil traffic judge is also given. Links to other parts of the city's web site are at the top of the page.
- Chandler Municipal Court
http://www.chandleraz.gov/default.aspx?pageID=336
The court's web site immediately gives you the court's location, hours, and telephone number. Links to other related sites and a link for feedback also exist. Links with information about courtroom conduct, criminal and civil cases procedure, Orders of Protection, Injunctions against Harassment, and monetary sanctions for traffic cases are easy to find.
- El Mirage Municipal Court
http://www.cityofelmirage.org/index.asp?NID=2
Contains the court's address, a description of the cases handled by the court and links to a Criminal Rights Form and a Civil Rights Form. There is a link to a "Frequently Asked Questions" page, which includes the telephone number, hours of operation, and information about Orders of Protection, Injunctions Against Harrassment & Defensive Driving School.
- Fountain Hills Magistrate Court
http://www.ci.fountain-hills.az.us/PublicSafety/Court/default.asp
The court's address and telephone number are displayed along with a descriptin of the court's jurisdiction. A link to a biography of the town's presiding judge and links to a few other parts of the city's website also appear on the page.
- Gilbert Municipal Court
http://www.ci.gilbert.az.us/court/
The court's address, hours, and telephone number are easy to find. Links to a map, information about court services, information about traffic offenses, and a quick link back to the Gilbert home page are on the left side of the page. Informatoin on the page states that this court also acts as the municipal court for the town of Queen Creek under an intergovernmental agreement. Some of the defensive driving school information was inaccurate as of May 10, 2003.
- Glendale
http://www.ci.glendale.az.us/Court/
This site provides a short paragraph about the types of matters handled by the court along with links for the court address and telephone number, the name of the court administrator and the presiding judge, criminal case process information, and a link to a .pdf form for requesting public records from the court.
- Goodyear Municipal Court
http://www.goodyearaz.gov/index.asp?NID=699
A description of the cases handled by the court appears. Location and contact information (phone number and address) are accessible via links on the left side of the screen.
- Guadalupe Town Court
http://www.guadalupeaz.org.htm is the town of Guadalupe's web site. Guadalupe doesn't have a separate web page for its court yet, but the town's web directory lists under "magistrate" the court's address, telephone number, and the name of the presiding judge.
- Litchfield Park Municipal Court
http://www.litchfield-park.org/
The city does not appear to have a web site for its court as of May 3, 2003. Click on "City Departments" and then "Public Safety" to reach information on the court's hours and cases handled.
- Mesa Municipal Court
http://www.ci.mesa.az.us/court/default.asp
This site has links to information on the court's services, options on traffic tickets, payments, etc. There is even a Spanish language version. Forms for Orders of Protection and a juror handbook are online in .pdf format. Links to other courts and law-related information are found in "General Information" under "Web Links."
- Paradise Valley Municipal Court
http://ci.paradise-valley.az.us/townhall/Court.htm
In one page, you get the court's location, telephone number, hours, general jurisdiction, a telephone number for photo enforcement issues, and information about protective orders. Links to other town departments appear on the left.
- Peoria Municipal Court
http://www.peoriaaz.com./MunicipalcourtF.htm
The home page gives a brief description of the court's jurisdiction and has a FAQ file for questions about the court. The court's address, hours and telephone number appear in the FAQ. A link to the city code is toward the bottom of the page as a link to the city's organizational chart. The blue "HOME" button is a quick link back to the city's home page.
- Phoenix Municipal Court
http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/COURT/
A short description of the cases handled by the court appears and a general information number are at the top of the page. Click on "Courts/Justice" and you will find a long list of links to a variety of court-related information. Examples of what you will find are: civil and criminal court procedure, the city's "boot and tow" program for repeated parking violators, the procedure for getting an Order of Protection, juror information and handbook, and much more. Click on "Phoenix Municipal Court General Information" for the court's address, various phone numbers and hours. A good place to start is the "Answers to Commonly Asked Questions" link at the top of the "Courts/Justice" page. Some of the appeal information for civil traffic cases was outdated as of May 10, 2003.
- Scottsdale City Court
http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/courts/
The court's address, hours and telephone number as well as a link that gives directions from different highways are among the first pieces of informaton given here. Links to the majority of court information are on the right; these links include the Criminal and Civil Traffic divisions. A link to "Frequently Asked Questions" is to the left of the picture of the court.
- Surprise Municipal Court
http://www.supriseaz.com/Directory.asp
Surprise does not have a separate web site for its court yet, but the town's web directory lists the court's address and telephone number as well as the names, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers of the presiding judge and three court employees.
- Queen Creek Municipal Court
http://www.queencreek.org is the town's web site. See information for Gilbert Municipal Court regarding the town's court.
- Tempe Municipal Court
http://www.tempe.gov/court/
You will find the court's address, hours, and telephone number as well as a description of the types of cases handled, when you click on "General Information" on the left side of the court's main page. Here you will also find links to explanations of the procedures for both civil and criminal offenses, Defensive Driving School, and the fine schedule for various offenses. Some information about civil traffic appeals was incorrect as of May 10, 2003.
- Tolleson City Court
http://www.tollesonaz.org/directory.asp?DID=13
Tolleson does not have a separate web site for its court yet. However, the town's web directory lists a short description of hte matters the court handles, along with the court's address, telephone number, and the names, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers of the presiding judge and other court employees.
- Wickenburg Town Court
http://www.ci.wickenburg.az.us/index.asp?NID=110
The court's web page identifies the judge and lists the court's telephone number and address, along with a short description of the cases handled at the court. There are links on the left side of the screen for "FAQs", and information about Traffic Offenses, Defensive Driving Class and Protection Orders.
- Youngtown Municipal Court
http://www.youngtownaz.org/index.htm is the town's web site. As of May 10, 2003, there is no mention of the court on the town's web site.
User-friendly URL: www.law.asu.edu/library/maricopacounty
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