 |
 |
|
|
|
|
| search a lawyer |
|
|
| ACTS, STATUTES |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Home > Statutes > Usa Arizona |
|
USA Statutes : arizona
Title : Justices of the Peace and Other Courts Not of Record
Chapter : JUSTICE PRECINCTS AND PRECINCT OFFICERS
|
|
22-101 Formation, change or abolishment
The board of supervisors shall divide the county into justice precincts and name or
number them, and may change or abolish any justice precinct or redistrict the county, but
abolishment of a precinct shall not take effect until expiration of the term of office of
the justice and constable then in office.
22-102 Officers and term of office
The officers of justice precincts shall be a justice of the peace and a constable,
who shall be elected by the qualified electors of the precinct at the general election
for state and county officers for terms of four years each.
22-103 Presiding justice of the peace; selection
In any county in which two or more justice courts are located, the justices of the
peace in that county shall periodically select one justice of the peace to serve as
presiding justice of the peace and another justice of the peace to act as the presiding
justice of the peace and to perform the duties and exercise the powers of the presiding
justice of the peace during the absence or inability to act of the presiding justice of
the peace.
22-111 Election; term of office
In each justice precinct there shall be elected by the qualified electors of the
precinct, at the general election, one justice of the peace, who shall hold office for a
term of four years from January 1 following his election, and who may continue in office
during his candidacy for another judicial office of the state and, if elected, until he
assumes the duties of the other judicial office.
22-112 Powers and duties
A justice of the peace shall:
1. Have the powers and perform the duties prescribed by law.
2. Prepare a schedule of traffic violations not involving the death of a person or
any felony traffic offense, listing specific bail for each violation.
3. Designate a deputy other than a law enforcement officer and a specific location
at which the deputy shall, during hours when the court is not open, set the amount of
bail in accordance with the foregoing schedule and collect such bail, or accept proper
bail bonds in lieu thereof, for and on behalf of the court.
4. Prepare a schedule of civil traffic violations, listing a specific deposit for
each violation.
5. Designate a person, a specific location and the hours which such person will be
at the location to accept proper deposits for civil traffic violations for and on behalf
of the court.
22-113 Seal
Each justice of the peace shall have an official seal, which shall contain the words
"justice of the peace" and the name of the county in which the justice precinct is
located. The seal shall be used to authenticate official documents issued and
acknowledgments taken by the justice of the peace.
22-114 Authority to act in other precincts within the county or adjoining precincts; expenses
A. Each justice of the peace within a county may, in the absence, illness or
inability to act or upon the request of the justice of the other precinct, preside in any
other precinct within the county or in any precinct adjoining the precinct in which he
was elected regardless of the county in which such adjoining precinct may be located.
B. Each justice of the peace while in attendance in another precinct under the
authority of this section may execute process, preside over the trial of cases, and
otherwise perform all the duties of the justice of the other precinct and the expense of
travel to perform such functions outside the precinct for which the justice of the peace
is elected shall be a county charge to be paid by the county in which the justice of the
peace renders the service.
C. On request of a justice of another precinct, for any court proceeding other than
a pretrial proceeding or trial and if no witnesses are involved, a justice of one
precinct may perform for and on behalf of the justice of the other precinct without being
physically present within the precinct of the other justice of the peace. In these cases
no travel expense shall be paid.
D. If two or more justice courts are located within the same city, the justice of
one precinct may perform for and on behalf of the justice of the other precinct without
being physically present within the precinct of the other justice of the peace. In these
cases, no travel expense shall be paid.
22-115 Jurisdiction of successor in office
A justice of the peace elected or appointed as the successor of a previous justice
of the peace has jurisdiction of the actions or proceedings brought or pending before his
predecessor in office, and may proceed therein as if they had been brought before him.
22-116 Funds in possession of justice of the peace; deposit with county treasurer; payment to claimants; disposition of unclaimed funds
A. On or before April 1 each year every justice of the peace who has funds in his
possession arising from fees or any other source, which have been in his possession for
more than two years before April 1, shall pay such funds to the county treasurer and
shall provide the treasurer with an itemized list showing the name of the person
depositing the money with the justice, the date of the deposit, and the amount.
B. The treasurer shall deposit the money in an account entitled the "suspension
account", and at any time within one year from deposit of the funds the amount owing any
person shall be returned and paid to the person upon warrant issued by the board of
supervisors. The board of supervisors shall require strict proof that the money should
be repaid to the person claiming it, and the warrant, if issued, shall be paid from the
suspension fund.
C. One year after deposit of the money with the county treasurer all money
remaining in the suspension account for which no claim has been filed shall be deposited
in the general fund of the county.
22-117 Payment of compensation and expenses
A. Justices of the peace shall be allowed by the board of supervisors, as a county
charge, office rent, stationery, telephone and lights.
B. The state shall pay forty per cent of the compensation and employee related
expenditures of a justice of the peace, and the county shall pay sixty per cent of the
compensation and employee related expenditures of a justice of the peace, except that the
county shall pay the full amount of the employer contribution of the state retirement
system or plan or any county health plan.
C. The state treasurer shall remit the compensation and employee related
expenditures payable by the state to the county treasurer, and the county shall disburse
the funds to the justice of the peace.
22-118 Failure to disburse fines or forfeitures received; classification
A justice of the peace who receives a fine or forfeiture and knowingly fails or
refuses to pay or disburse it according to law within thirty days after the receipt
thereof, is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.
22-119 Purchase of judgment; classification
A justice of the peace who knowingly purchases or offers directly or indirectly to
purchase any judgment or part thereof on his docket or on any docket in his possession,
is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.
22-120 Forfeiture of and disqualification from office upon conviction of certain crimes
A justice of the peace who is convicted of the crime of asking, receiving or
agreeing to receive a bribe upon an agreement or understanding that his vote, opinion or
decision on any matter or question which is or may be brought before him for decision,
shall be influenced thereby, or of asking or receiving any emolument, gratuity or reward
or any promise thereof, except as authorized by law, for doing any official act, or of
purchasing or holding an interest in the purchase of any judgment or part thereof on the
docket of, or upon any docket in possession of such justice of the peace, in addition to
the punishment prescribed, shall forfeit his office and is forever disqualified from
holding any office in this state.
22-121 Justices of the peace pro tempore; appointment; term; reappointment; extension of duties; powers and duties
A. The presiding judge of the superior court in a county may appoint a justice of
the peace pro tempore for any precinct of that county where needed in the manner provided
by this article and subject to the approval of the board of supervisors.
B. The presiding judge may appoint a justice of the peace pro tempore for any
period of time not to exceed twelve months for any one term. The presiding judge may
reappoint a person who was previously appointed as a justice of the peace pro
tempore. The presiding judge may at any time terminate the term of the justice of the
peace pro tempore.
C. The judicial powers and duties of the justice of the peace pro tempore shall be
the same as a duly elected justice of the peace and shall extend beyond the period of the
justice of the peace pro tempore's appointment for the purpose of hearing and determining
any proceeding necessary for a final determination of a cause heard by the justice in
whole or in part during the period of the justice's appointment.
22-122 Qualifications of justices of the peace pro tempore; residence; compensation
A. A justice of the peace pro tempore shall be:
1. Of good moral character.
2. A qualified elector and resident of this state for not less than one year next
preceding his appointment.
B. A justice of the peace pro tempore may be appointed to serve in the precinct or
county of his residence or in any precinct or county in which he is not a resident.
C. Notwithstanding any other law or rule, a person who is not admitted to the
practice of law may be appointed to serve as a justice of the peace pro tempore.
D. A justice of the peace pro tempore is entitled to receive compensation as
determined for an elected justice of the peace for the precinct where the justice of the
peace pro tempore is assigned to serve. A justice of the peace pro tempore may agree in
advance to donate any or all of his services.
22-123 Payment of salaries and other expenses; providing facilities; judicial employees
The salary of the justice of the peace pro tempore shall be paid by the county
wherein the justice of the peace pro tempore is assigned and all expenses for facilities,
judicial employees and supplies shall be paid by the county.
22-124 Custody of records filed; purging; destruction
A. The justice of the peace shall keep in custody and shall take charge of and
safely keep and dispose of according to court rules all books, papers and records which
may be filed or deposited in custody.
B. The justice court may destroy all documents, records, instruments, books,
papers, depositions, exhibits and transcripts in any action or proceeding in the justice
court or otherwise filed or deposited in custody pursuant to rules established by the
supreme court.
C. The justice of the peace or the justice's designee shall notify the director of
the ARIZONA state library, archives and public records of records designated for
destruction pursuant to court rules. The state library shall have the opportunity in a
time prescribed by court rule to review and inspect these records. During this time
period, the state library may remove any of these records for storage and retrieval.
D. Subsection C does not apply if the director of the ARIZONA state library,
archives and public records has previously approved the destruction of records.
22-125 Justice of the peace compensation; judicial productivity credits
A. The annual salary of each justice of the peace is determinable on the basis of
the total judicial productivity credits of each court as reported in statistics compiled
by the ARIZONA supreme court according to the following formula:
1. Total civil filings, excluding those small claims filings heard by a volunteer
hearing officer, divided by ten equals __________ judicial productivity
credits. Juvenile hearings pursuant to section 8-323, excluding juvenile traffic
violations, shall be counted as civil filings.
2. Total felony complaint filings divided by ten equals __________ judicial
productivity credits.
3. Total misdemeanor filings divided by ten equals __________ judicial productivity
credits.
4. Total traffic filings of a violation of sections 28-662 through 28-664, 28-693,
28-702.01, 28-702.04, 28-708, 28-1381 and 28-1382 divided by ten equals __________
judicial productivity credits.
5. Total of all other traffic filings divided by sixty equals ___________ judicial
productivity credits.
B. Total judicial productivity credits for a justice of the peace is the sum of the
figures computed in subsection A of this section.
C. The board of supervisors shall use the average number of cases filed annually in
each justice court for the two year period ending December 31, 1979 to determine the
initial judicial productivity credits for each of the case load categories described in
subsection A of this section. The board of supervisors shall compute judicial
productivity credits every two years thereafter using the average annual filings for the
preceding two year period.
D. In determining the compensation levels appropriate to the case load of each
justice of the peace, the board of supervisors shall use the total judicial productivity
credits as follows:
1. Five hundred or more judicial productivity credits, seventy per cent of the
annual compensation payable to a judge of the superior court.
2. Two hundred to four hundred ninety-nine total judicial productivity credits,
sixty-five per cent of the annual compensation payable to a judge of the superior court.
3. One hundred fifty to one hundred ninety-nine total judicial productivity
credits, fifty-five per cent of the annual compensation payable to a judge of the
superior court.
4. One hundred to one hundred forty-nine total judicial productivity credits, fifty
per cent of the annual compensation payable to a judge of the superior court.
5. Fifty to ninety-nine total judicial productivity credits, forty-five per cent of
the annual compensation payable to a judge of the superior court.
6. Twenty-five to forty-nine total judicial productivity credits, thirty-five per
cent of the annual compensation payable to a judge of the superior court.
7. Twenty-four or fewer total judicial productivity credits, a part-time case load
for one justice of the peace, twenty-five per cent of the annual compensation payable to
a judge of the superior court.
E. If a justice court is not assigned clerical help, the board of supervisors shall
multiply the total judicial productivity credits by two for purposes of determining
compensation.
F. If the board of supervisors divides a justice precinct into two or more
precincts, the board shall set the level of compensation consistent with the intent of
this section until such time as statistics are available for computation of compensation
levels using the formula prescribed by this section.
G. The board of supervisors shall review and adjust the level of compensation for
each justice of the peace within the county every two years beginning January 1, 1983.
H. The judicial productivity credits for any justice court precinct shall not
exceed twelve hundred credits. If the total judicial productivity credits of a justice
court precinct exceed twelve hundred credits, the county board of supervisors shall
create sufficient courts, or redraw the justice court precinct boundaries according to
section 22-101, in order to reduce the judicial productivity credits for any precinct
which exceeds that limit.
22-131 Powers and duties; training
A. Constables shall attend the courts of justices of the peace within their
precincts when required, and within their counties execute, serve and return all
processes and notices directed or delivered to them by a justice of the peace of the
county or by competent authority. In addition to any other provision of law these duties
may be enforced by the presiding judge of the superior court in the county, including the
use of the power of contempt.
B. The ARIZONA peace officer standards and training board shall approve a mandatory
training course for constables covering topics including civil and criminal process,
conflict resolution and firearm safety. Constables shall be required to attend the
mandatory training course within six months after election. In subsequent years,
constables shall annually attend at least eight hours of additional training approved by
the ARIZONA peace officer standards and training board. Copies of certificates of
completion of the constable training shall be forwarded to the clerk of the justice court
and the clerk of the board of supervisors within thirty days after completion.
C. Constables, with the consent of and at salaries fixed by the board of
supervisors, may appoint deputies, stenographers, clerks and assistants necessary to
conduct the affairs of their offices. The appointments shall be in writing and filed in
the office of the county recorder.
D. The provisions of law relating to sheriffs, as far as applicable, shall govern
the powers, duties and liabilities of constables.
22-132 Expenses
Constables shall be allowed by the board of supervisors, as a county charge, the
actual and necessary expenses incurred in training as required by section 22-131,
pursuing defendants, transacting business relating to civil and criminal matters, and
serving notices and processes, except that the allowable expenses for service of process
in civil actions shall be as provided in section 11-445.
22-133 Failure to disburse fine or forfeiture received; classification
A constable who receives a fine or forfeiture and knowingly fails or refuses to pay
or disburse it according to law within thirty days after receipt thereof, is guilty of a
class 2 misdemeanor.
22-134 Purchase of judgment; classification
A constable who knowingly purchases or offers directly or indirectly to purchase any
judgment or part thereof on the docket of the justice of the peace of the precinct of
which he is constable or on any docket in the possession of such justice of the peace, is
guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.
22-135 Forfeiture of and disqualification from office upon conviction of certain crimes
A constable who is convicted of the crime of asking, receiving or agreeing to
receive a bribe upon an agreement or understanding that his vote, opinion or decision on
any matter or question which is or may be brought before him for decision, shall be
influenced thereby, or of asking or receiving any emolument, gratuity or reward or any
promise thereof, except as authorized by law, for doing any official act, or of
purchasing or holding an interest in the purchase of any judgment or part thereof on the
docket of, or upon any docket in possession of the justice of the peace of the precinct
of which he is constable, in addition to the punishment prescribed, shall forfeit his
office and is forever disqualified from holding any office in this state.
22-136 Constable ethics committee
A. A constable ethics committee is established consisting of the following voting
members:
1. Two constables from counties with a population of less than one million persons
who are appointed by the ARIZONA association of counties.
2. Two constables from counties with a population of one million or more persons
who are appointed by the ARIZONA association of counties.
3. One superior court judge who is appointed by the chief justice of the supreme
court.
4. One justice of the peace who is appointed by the chief justice of the supreme
court.
5. One county administrator who is appointed by the county supervisors association.
6. One sheriff who is appointed by the governor.
7. One member of the public who is appointed by the governor.
B. The chairperson of the ARIZONA commission on judicial conduct or the
chairperson's designee who is also a member of the commission is the chairperson of the
committee. The chairperson of the committee is a nonvoting advisory member. The committee
shall adopt a constable code of conduct that addresses attendance at mandatory training
and rules of procedure and shall receive administrative support from the ARIZONA
commission on judicial conduct.
C. Terms of the committee members are four years, except that the initial terms of
two constables, the superior court judge, the county administrator and the sheriff are
two years. If a member ceases to hold the position that qualified the member for the
appointment, the member's membership terminates and the appointing authority pursuant to
subsection A fills the vacancy for the unexpired term.
D. The committee shall hear and investigate written complaints from any person
involving a constable's ethical or personal conduct. The committee shall attempt to
remedy a constable's inappropriate behavior by:
1. Mediating.
2. Issuing warnings, reprimands or admonishments.
3. Instructing constables to take particular action to correct behavior or to take
educational courses.
4. Urging a constable to retire from office.
E. If the committee is not satisfied with the remedies prescribed by subsection D
the committee shall submit a report to the county attorney's office in the county in
which the conduct at issue occurred.
|
|
|
|
