Arizona State Court System
In each state, the lowest level as far as the court system is concerned is known as the trial court of limited jurisdiction. In the state of Arizona, the trial court o0f limited jurisdiction entails the municipal courts and the justice of the peace courts. As their name suggests these courts have limited jurisdiction as far as the cases that can be heard and effectively determined in the are concerned. Thus, these courts are relegated to strictly handling cases that have a seemingly lower magnitude as far as the gravity of the offence in question is concerned. Cases that can be presented, heard, and by all means effectively determined in these courts include traffic violations and lawsuits that involve relatively low claims as far as matters of compensation are concerned. The municipal courts and the justice of the peace courts can also hear cases involving divorce and the ensuing custody issues that more often than not accompany divorce cases (Smith, p.67). In the state of Arizona, the counties are divided into precincts and as such, each precinct has a court of limited jurisdiction. In these courts, judges are elected and as such serve for a term of four years.
The next level in the court system in the state of Arizona is the superior court. This court has significantly higher jurisdiction than the municipal court with reference to the gravity of the cases that can be heard and effectively determined in these courts. A good example is the fact that the superior court can hear appeals resonating from justice of the peace courts and from municipal courts. Thus, a contentious issue causing dissatisfaction in the municipal courts can be referred to the superior court for a more effective judgment. These particular courts have jurisdiction over both criminal cases and civil caress resonating within the state of Arizona. In these courts, a jury is always present and helps in the determining of cases. There is at least one judge in every county of the state of Arizona that works for the superior court.
The state of Arizona also has a special court known as the tax court. This court specializes exclusively in cases involving matters of taxation and the payment of taxes by the citizens of the state of Arizona. This court especially emphasizes on state tax issues (Murphy, p.51). Thus, failure to pay state taxes in time will result in the individual in question being presented to the tax court for trial.
The next level as far as the court system hierarchy in the state of Arizona is concerned is the court of appeals. More often than not parties involved in any given trial have the right to effectively appeal the decision of the court and as such, these appeals are referred to the court of appeals (Smith, p.72). These courts were establishes in the state of Arizona in the year 1964. These courts have jurisdiction over all appeal cases arising from the lower courts such as the superior courts, the tax courts, the municipal courts, and the justice of the peace courts. There are a total of twenty-two judges affiliated to the court of appeals. These judges receive their respective appointments, which puts them in office for a period of six years. These courts are however further divided into two geographical divisions, which effectively make up the portfolio of the courts of appeals. The jurisdiction of the courts of appeals has a very wide scope due to the fact that this particular court can hear all kinds of cases, which arise from lower courts.
The highest court in the state of Arizona is known as the Supreme Court. This court administers over all the other courts in the state and as such acts as a check on the conduct of the other courts in terms of the judgments and decisions made in the other courts of lower jurisdiction. Due to this fact the Supreme Court has seemingly unlimited jurisdiction. This means that all cases resonating in the state of Arizona can be heard and effectively determined in the Supreme Court. Due to the fact that there exists a court of appeals immediately below the supreme court in terms of hierarchy, the supreme court can therefore decide to hear or not to hear certain cases and refer these cases to the court of appeals or any other lower courts that the supreme court feels is sufficient enough to effectively handle the case in question. There are however, certain cases that cannot be heard in any of the lower courts and are instead referred immediately to the supreme courts (Murphy, p.81). Such cases include cases involving disputes with reference to elections. Such cases go immediately to the highest court in the land which in this case just so happens to be the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has five judges who are appointed exclusively by the governor. The term of these five judges lasts for a period of five years. These judges in turn appoint a chief justice and a deputy chief justice who preside over all the activities of the court.
Works Cited
Arizona court system. Tempe, Ariz.: Arizona State University, College of Law, 2005. Print.
Murphy, James M.. Laws, courts, and lawyers; through the years in Arizona. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2003. Print.
Smith, Zachary A. Politics and public policy in Arizona. 3rd ed. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2002. Print.
