The Arizona Justice Court is a lower court of jurisdiction within the Arizona Court system. This means the justice court system handles matters with relatively low stakes such as misdemeanors, traffic violations, forcible detainer, orders of protection, some injunctions, and civil lawsuits up to $10,000. Most other matters are handled at the Superior Court.
Many people think of Small Claims Court when you bring up Justice Court. However, Justice Court is different from Small Claims Court. The Small Claims Court is actually a division of the justice court system. The primary difference is Small Claims Court handles fewer types of claims, handles only civil claims which are $2,500 or less, and attorneys are not permitted to represent anyone unless both parties agree.
Civil Claims
If you have a claim that would qualify for Justice Court, it is likely you will want to file there instead of with the Superior Court. In fact, if your civil claim is for $10,000 or less, the Justice Courts have exclusive jurisdiction, which means that is the only place you can file your claim. The purpose of Justice Court is to provide a much quicker and less expensive alternative to Superior Court.
Being in Justice Court does not mean the rules are any different. The Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, the Arizona Rules of Evidence, and all other Arizona laws are applicable and must be followed by all participants in Justice Court.
While it is not necessary to have a lawyer in Justice Court, some people do retain a lawyer to represent them. In fact, if you are in a collections dispute, you can be guaranteed most of the time the collections company is going to have an attorney handling things for them. This is not to say you should get an attorney, in fact many people handle their claims in Justice Court on their own rather than pay the attorney fees and costs for smaller claims.
Misdemeanors and Traffic Tickets
A person may have to appear in Justice Court on misdemeanor charges when either the County Attorney files charges or an officer issues a citation. Typical criminal offenses include: shoplifting; underage drinking; and simple assaults. DUI and some criminal traffic violations are also often handled by the Justice Court.
All county traffic tickets are heard by the Justice Court. Tickets issued by city police are typically handled by the municipal court for the respective municipality where the violation occurred.
Traffic cases are heard by the justice of the peace or a volunteer hearing officer. A person only needs to appear in court when they are contesting the violation or citation.
Costs
Filing in Justice Court is not free. In fact, the filing fees are about the same for filing in Justice Court as it does in Superior Court. A civil complaint costs $80 to file, and an answer is $50, a requests for an order of protection is free, a forcible entry and detainer complaint is $45, and copies will run you $0.50 per page.
For complete information including locations and FAQ on the Justice Court system click on the link for your jurisdiction below:
Apache County (see Justice of the Peace)
