Title 22 — Justice and Municipal Courts

A. 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 a…

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.

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 …

A. In each county in which there are four or more constables, the constables in that county shall select by majority vote one constable to serve as the presiding constable and another constable to act as the associate presiding constable and to perform the duties and exercise the…

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 …

A justice of the peace shall have the powers and perform the duties prescribed by law.

A. 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 ju…

A. In the absence, illness or inability to act or on the request of the justice of the other precinct, each justice of the peace within a county may preside in any other precinct within the county or in any precinct adjoining the precinct regardless of the county in which the adj…

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.

A. On or before April 1 each year, every justice of the peace whose court is in possession of funds obtained from any source for more than two years shall pay the funds to the county treasurer and shall provide the treasurer with an itemized list showing the name of the person de…

A. Justices of the peace shall be allowed by the board of supervisors, as a county charge, the following: 1. Space. 2. Equipment. 3. Supplies. B. In a county with a population of less than one million five hundred thousand persons, the state shall pay forty percent of the compens…

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.

A justice of the peace who knowingly purchases or offers directly or indirectly to purchase any judgment or part of a judgment is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.

In addition to the punishment prescribed by the crime, a justice of the peace who is convicted of any of the following crimes shall forfeit the office and is forever disqualified from holding any office in this state: 1. Asking, receiving or agreeing to receive a bribe on an agre…

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. 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 any precinct or county. C. N…

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.

A. The justice of the peace shall maintain and dispose of all documents that are filed with the court pursuant to rules prescribed by the supreme court. B. The justice of the peace or the justice's designee shall notify the director of the Arizona state library, archives and publ…

A. The annual salary of each justice of the peace is determined by the total judicial productivity credits of each court as reported in statistics compiled by the Arizona supreme court. B. Judicial productivity credits shall be determined according to the following formula: 1. Al…

A. Constables shall attend the courts of justices of the peace within their precincts when required, and within their counties shall execute, serve and return all processes, warrants and notices directed or delivered to them by a justice of the peace of the county or by competent…

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 22-137, pursuing defendants, transacting business relating to civil and criminal matters and serving notices and processes, e…

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.

A constable who knowingly purchases or offers directly or indirectly to purchase any judgment or part of a judgment is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.

In addition to the punishment prescribed by the crime, a constable who is convicted of any of the following crimes shall forfeit the office and is forever disqualified from holding office in this state: 1. Asking, receiving or agreeing to receive a bribe on an agreement or unders…

A. A constable ethics standards and training board is established consisting of the following voting members: 1. One constable who is from a county with a population of less than one million persons and who is appointed by a statewide constables association established prior to J…

A. The constable ethics standards and training board shall: 1. Adopt rules for the administration and conduct of the board, including meeting times, meeting places and matters to be placed on the agenda of each meeting, and for the distribution of monies in the constable ethics s…

A. A constable ethics standards and training fund is established consisting of monies received from writ fees collected pursuant to section 11-445, subsection A, paragraph 17. The constable ethics standards and training board shall administer the fund. On notice from the board, t…

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…