Know your vote. Take a look at your sample ballot now!

Pine & Strawberry Municipal Court, Arizona

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Local Courts
Trial-Courts-Ballotpedia.png
Trial courts and judges
Elections by state
Judicial selection by state
View courts by state:

Local Politics Image.jpg

Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This page is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.



The Pine & Strawberry Municipal Court resides in Arizona. Click on the links below to learn more about the court's...

Jurisdiction

This court holds the following jurisdiction:[1]

Many incorporated cities or towns have a municipal court, also known as a city court or a magistrate court. Municipal courts have criminal jurisdiction over misdemeanor crimes and petty offenses committed in their city or town. They share jurisdiction with justice courts over violations of state law committed within their city or town limits.[2]

Selection method

See also: Judicial selection in the states

Judges of the Arizona Municipal Courts are appointed to terms of varying lengths by the governing body of their municipality, except in Yuma, Arizona. In Yuma, judges on these courts are elected in partisan contested elections. A law degree is not required to serve on this court in all municipalities.[3]

Judicial elections in Arizona

See also: Arizona judicial elections

Arizona is one of eight states that use partisan elections to initially select judges and then use retention elections to determine whether judges should remain on the bench. To read more about how states use judicial elections to select judges across the country, click here.

Primary election

Judges of the Arizona Superior Court in counties with populations under 250,000 are chosen in a partisan primary and then face nonpartisan general elections.[4]

Candidates for the Arizona Justice Courts participate in primary elections throughout the state. Candidates that advance from the partisan primary compete in the general election.[5]

General election

Arizona general elections are held on the first Tuesday in November of every even-numbered year. If a victory margin is within one-half of one percent, there will be an automatic recount unless the defeated candidate provides a waiver to the recount.[6]

Appellate court judges as well as superior court judges in Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal counties stand for retention.[5]

Retention election

In counties with populations greater than 250,000—Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal counties—superior court judges are chosen through a merit selection system. In these counties, judges are appointed by the governor with the help of a selection commission. At the end of their term, the judges remain in office through uncontested retention elections every four years.[4][5]

Counties with populations less than 250,000 have the option to adopt the merit selection process through ballot initiative.[5]

See also

External links

Footnotes