Title 22 — Justice and Municipal Courts

A. Justices of the peace have jurisdiction only as affirmatively conferred on them by law. B. Justices of the peace have exclusive original jurisdiction of all civil actions when the amount involved, exclusive of interest, costs and awarded attorney fees when authorized by law, i…

A. A person shall not be sued outside of the justice precinct where the person resides, except: 1. If a defendant or all of several defendants reside outside the state or when their residence is unknown, the action may be brought in the justice precinct where the plaintiff reside…

If the justice of the peace of the precinct in which the case is filed is absent or for any reason is unable to act, the case may be heard in any precinct within the same county that is designated by the justice of the peace or in the absence of the justice of the peace in any pr…

A. If either party in an action pending in a justice court, after the answer has been filed, files an affidavit in the action alleging any of the grounds specified in subsection B of this section and gives five days' notice to the opposite party, the venue may be changed as provi…

A. If a justice of the peace is disqualified in a civil action the justice of the peace shall transfer the action to a justice court in the same county that is nearest by the ordinary route of travel. B. The order of transfer shall state the reason for the transfer and the name o…

[Repealed or reserved.]

The law governing procedure and practice in the superior court so far as applicable and when not otherwise specially prescribed, shall govern procedure and practice in justice courts.

Each justice of the peace shall keep a civil court record. The court record shall include the following: 1. The title of actions commenced before the justice of the peace. 2. The date when the first process was issued against the defendant, when returnable and the nature thereof.…

The pleadings in the justice court may be oral, except as otherwise provided by law.

A. An answer or other pleading made in a justice court that alleges any of the following matters shall be in writing and signed: 1. That the action is not commenced in the proper county or precinct. 2. That the plaintiff has no legal capacity to sue. 3. That the plaintiff is not …

A. A justice of the peace shall at the request of a party to an action pending in his court issue a subpoena for any witness represented to reside within the county or to be found therein at the time of trial. B. The form, issuance and service of the subpoena shall be as provided…

A. A party may appear in person or by an agent or attorney before a justice of the peace without issuance or service of process and confess judgment for an amount within the jurisdiction of the justice of the peace, and such judgment shall be entered thereon on the filing by the …

A. When a defendant appears the defendant's appearance shall be noted in the court record. B. Either party may demand a jury before trial, and if not then demanded, trial by jury shall be deemed waived. This subsection does not apply to civil traffic violations for which citation…

A. At the time appointed for the trial, the justice of the peace shall call the names of the jurors summoned. If a sufficient number of qualified jurors do not attend, the trial shall be postponed. B. Either party may challenge any juror either for cause or peremptorily.

When the jury has been selected, the justice of the peace shall administer to it substantially the following oath: "Do you swear or affirm that you will give careful attention to the proceedings, abide by the court's instructions and render a verdict in accordance with the law an…

When a verdict is returned by a jury the justice of the peace shall announce the verdict in open court, note it in the court record and give judgment on the verdict. When the action has been tried without a jury, the justice of the peace shall announce the decision in open court,…

The judgment shall be signed by the justice of the peace and then be recorded at length in the court record. The judgment shall clearly state the determination of the rights of the parties, who shall pay the costs, and shall direct issuance of such process as necessary to carry t…

Where judgment is for the recovery of specific articles, their value shall be separately found by the verdict or decision and the judgment shall be that plaintiff recover the specific articles if they can be found, and if not, then their value as assessed with interest thereon at…

A. The judgment of a justice of the peace shall be enforced by execution or other appropriate process. B. The execution or process shall describe the judgment and command the sheriff or constable to execute it according to its terms, whether the judgment is to make a sum of money…

A. Where an execution is sent to a county other than that in which judgment was given, it shall be accompanied by a certificate of the clerk of the superior court, under seal, that the officer issuing the execution is an acting justice of the peace in the county where the judgmen…

No real property or any interest therein shall be levied upon or sold by virtue of any judgment given by a justice of the peace unless a certified transcript of the judgment is first filed in the office of the clerk of the superior court of the county where the judgment was given…

A. The prevailing party shall file a satisfaction of judgment in the justice court within forty days after a judgment has been paid in full. B. If the prevailing party fails to file a satisfaction of judgment or cannot be located after the opposing party has exercised due diligen…

A. Any party to a final judgment of a justice court may appeal to the superior court. B. The party aggrieved by a judgment in any action in which the validity of a tax, impost, assessment, toll or state statute is involved may appeal to the superior court without regard to the am…

The procedure for appeals from a justice court to the superior court shall be as provided by rules adopted by the supreme court.

No appeal shall be dismissed or judgment affirmed by reason of any defect, informality or insufficiency of the appeal bond, if appellant, within such time and upon such terms as the court orders, files a legal and sufficient bond.

A. When an appeal is taken the justice of the peace shall make a certified copy of all court record documents, exhibits and other objects filed with the court and transmit them, together with a certified copy of the bill of costs, to the clerk of the superior court. The record of…

Upon receipt of the transcript or papers on appeal from the justice court, the clerk of the superior court shall notify appellant that the transcript or papers will be filed upon payment of the amount provided in section 22-283, and unless paid within fifteen days after giving th…

A. Justices of the peace shall receive fees established and classified as follows in civil actions: Class Description Fee A Initial case filing fee Civil filing fees $ 73.00 B Subsequent case filing fee Civil filing fees — defendant $ 40.00 C Initial case filing fee Forcible entr…

The appellant in a civil action appealed to the superior court from a justice court shall pay to the clerk of the superior court the fee of a plaintiff as provided in section 12-284 at the time of filing the transcript and papers on appeal. The appellee shall within twenty days a…

A. The presiding judge of the superior court may provide for the electronic filing of documents and electronic access to justice court records, pursuant to rules adopted by the supreme court. B. The presiding judge may impose a fee of not more than one hundred dollars per year fo…