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Pima County Justice Courts, Arizona

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The Pima County Justice Courts reside in Arizona. Click on the links below to learn more about the court's...

Jurisdiction

This court holds the following jurisdiction:[1]

“ Justice courts have criminal jurisdiction over:
  • Petty offenses and misdemeanors.
  • Assault or battery — less serious offenses not committed on a public officer while performing his or her duties.
  • Breaches of peace and committing a willful injury to property.
  • Misdemeanors and criminal offenses punishable by fines not more than $2,500, imprisonment in county jail not to exceed six months, or both fine and imprisonment.
  • Felonies for the purpose of issuing warrants and conducting preliminary hearings.[2]
 ”

Judges


Office Name Party Date assumed office
Pima County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Victoria Steele Democratic January 1, 2023
Pima County Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 Erica Cornejo Democratic
Pima County Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 Sara Mae Williams Democratic January 1, 2023
Pima County Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 Charlene Pesquiera Democratic
Pima County Justice of the Peace Precinct 5 Vacant
Pima County Justice of the Peace Precinct 6 Alexander Ball Democratic January 1, 2021
Pima County Justice of the Peace Precinct 7 Ray Carroll Republican
Pima County Justice of the Peace Precinct 8 Kristel Ann Foster Democratic January 1, 2023
Pima County Justice of the Peace Precinct 9 Renee Ann Garza Democratic January 1, 2025
Pima County Justice of the Peace Precinct 10 Robert Forman Republican January 1, 2025


Elections

Arizona is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. To learn more about judicial selection in Arizona, click here.

Selection method

See also: Judicial selection in the states
See also: Partisan elections

Judges of the Arizona Justice Courts are each elected to four-year terms. The elections for this court are partisan contested elections.[3] To serve on this court, a judge must be at least 18 years old, a state resident, a qualified voter in their precinct and able to read and write English. A law degree is not required.

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

  1. ↑ Arizona Judicial Branch, "Limited Jurisdiction Courts - Justice Courts," accessed May 10, 2023
  2. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  3. ↑ Arizona Judicial Branch, "Justice Courts," accessed May 17, 2014
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Maricopa County Website, "Judicial Biographies," accessed April 28, 2014
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Arizona," archived October 2, 2014
  6. ↑ Arizona Election Code, "§17-16-20," accessed April 29, 2014

Arizona courts

Federal courts:

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Arizona • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Arizona

State courts:

Arizona Supreme Court • Arizona Court of Appeals • Arizona Superior Court • Arizona Justice Courts • Arizona Municipal Courts

State resources:

Courts in Arizona • Arizona judicial elections • Judicial selection in Arizona


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