Due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, many courts in Arizona have been modifying their instructions for defendants, criminal procedures, courtroom policies, and safety protocols. These changes arose after the Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court implemented temporary measures beginning March 16, 2020 and ending April 17, 2020 in order to mitigate the Arizona community’s risk of exposure to Coronavirus. These temporary measures included halting new jury selection, which means that no new jury trials will be started during this time period. However, unless the specific court or your assigned judge to your case orders otherwise, all other court proceedings will continue as scheduled with additional safety procedures in place.
The most significant safety procedure implemented is that many court proceedings are allowing for remote participation, whenever possible. This means that you and your attorney may be able to appear for your court date either telephonically or by videoconferencing. The other option may be that your attorney may be able to file a written document instead of having to appear in person. Best practice is for your attorney to check with the assigned judge for your upcoming hearing in order to determine whether or not you have to appear in person. Additionally, many judges are liberally granting continuances requested by attorneys during this time period. If your upcoming hearing is not urgent, you can ask your attorney to request a continuance on your behalf.
The following is a list of different Arizona courts that have published announcements implementing changes in response to Coronavirus COVID-19 as of March 18, 2020:
- Maricopa County Superior Court- Criminal Trial Division & Specialty Court (This does not include RCC/EDC Court)
- Pima County Superior Court
- Yavapai County Superior Court
- Pima County Consolidated Justice Court
- Division Two of the Arizona Court of Appeals
- Mohave County Court
- City of Phoenix Municipal Court
- Maricopa County Justice Courts
- Navajo County Superior Court
- Apache County Superior Court
- Scottsdale City Court
- Flagstaff Municipal Court
- Tempe Municipal Court
- Mesa Municipal Court
- Gilbert Municipal Court
- Buckeye Court
- Goodyear Municipal Court
- El Mirage City Court
- Tonopah Justice Court
- Fort Mcdowell Tribal Court