InArizona, there is one federal district court, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, trial courts, and tribal courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

Click a link for information about that court type.

• Federal courts
• State supreme court
• State court of appeals
• Trial courts
• Tribal courts

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Arizona's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of Arizona's state court system.

Judicial selection process

See also:Judicial selection in Arizona andArizona judicial elections

Selection of state court judges in Arizona occurs through a variety of methods, varying by level of court and (in the case of the superior courts) by county population. The twoappellate courts rely on what is known as theMissouri Plan, while the superior courts employ a mix ofpartisan elections,nonpartisan elections, andmerit selection.^[1]

Across the state's appellate and trial courts, there are seven supreme court justices, 28 courts of appeal judges, and 180 superior court judges.^[2][3]

Judges of theArizona Supreme Court andArizona Court of Appeals serve initial terms of at least two years, after which they stand forretention. Subsequent terms are six years in length for both courts. Judges of theArizona Superior Court inCoconino,Pima,Pinal, andMaricopa counties serve an initial term of two years, followed by four-year terms if retained. Superior court judges in other counties and judges of theArizona Justice Courts also serve four-year terms, with no initial two-year term.^[4]

Elected judges' terms take effect on the first Monday in January following their election.^[5]

To read more about judicial elections in Arizona,click here.

Federal courts

Thefederal district court in Arizona is theUnited States District Court for the District of Arizona.

Appeals from the district court go to theU.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Active Judges

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democratic appointed: 8
• Republican appointed: 6

Judicial selection

Judges who sit on the federal district courts are nominated by thepresident of the United States and confirmed by theUnited States Senate. These judges serve life terms. To read more about the judges on these courts, clickhere.

State supreme court

See also:Arizona Supreme Court

Founded inFebruary 1912, theArizona Supreme Court is thestate'scourt of last resort. The currentchief of the court isAnn Timmer. Seven justices serve on the court. It has administrative supervision over all the other courts, and it hears appeals of decisions from theCourt of Appeals, as well as appeals in special cases from theSuperior Court. Special cases include those involving the death penalty and some involving elected officials or disputes between counties.^[6][7]

Under Article 6, Section 5 of theArizona Constitution, the supreme court has discretionary jurisdiction to review the decisions reached by lower courts within the state. Discretionary jurisdiction allows the court to refuse to review a lower court case unless the defendant in the case is sentenced to death, in which case the supreme court must hear the case. The court has a supervisory role over the Arizona Bar Association, other courts in the state, and the Commission on Judicial Conduct and is responsible for making rules governing administration, practice, and procedure in all courts. Under Article 8, Part 2, Section 1 of the constitution, thechief justice of the court also has a role in the impeachment process of public officials who are accused of crimes. The chief presides over senate impeachment trials but does not offer a decision on guilt or innocence of the official.^[8]

The table below lists the current judges of theArizona Supreme Court and the appointing governor.

State court of appeals

See also:Arizona Court of Appeals

TheArizona Court of Appeals, further divided into two divisions, is the intermediate court in the state. Division One, based in Phoenix, consists of 19 judges, and has jurisdiction in the western and northern regions of the state, along with the greater Phoenix area. Division Two is based in Tucson and has nine judges. The court has jurisdiction over the southern regions of the state, including the Tucson area. Judges are selected in a method similar to the one used for the state Supreme Court justices.^[9][10]

The following judges sit on the court:

Trial courts

Superior courts

See also:Arizona Superior Court

Each county of Arizona has a superior court, which is a trial court of general jurisdiction. The size and organization of individual superior courts are varied and generally depend upon the size of the particular county. The superior courts also hear appeals from theArizona Justice Courts.

Justice courts

See also:Arizona Justice Courts

TheArizona Justice Courts are trial courts of limited jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases inArizona. Appeals of Justice Court rulings are heard by theArizona Superior Court.^[11]

Municipal courts

See also:Arizona Municipal Courts

TheArizona Municipal Courts are courts of limited jurisdiction over city and town ordinance violations inArizona. These courts also share jurisdiction with theJustice of the Peace Courts over violations of State law committed within the limits of the city or town.^[12]

Tribal courts

The Tribal Council of the Hopi Reservation in Arizona established theHopi Tribal Courts in 1972. The Hopi Judiciary is divided into theHopi Trial Court, with original jurisdiction over Hopi legal matters, and theHopi Appellate Court, which hears appeals from the trial court.^[13][14]

In other states

See also

• Judicial selection in Arizona
• Arizona judicial elections

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Arizona Court locator

Footnotes

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