Court Commissioner

Posting Date

Application Deadline

Pay Range

Job Type

Department

About the Position

Court Commissioners are appointed by the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court through a selection committee made up of Judges, Attorneys, and Legal Community Members. Court Commissioners preside over matters in Civil, Family, Juvenile, Criminal, Probate, Mental Health, Tax, or Justice Courts and serve as a Judge Pro Tempore as directed.

About The Superior Court:

The Superior Court of the Judicial Branch of Arizona in Maricopa County is dedicated to providing a safe, fair and impartial forum for resolving disputes, enhancing access to our services, and providing innovative, evidenced-based practices that improve the safety of our community and ensure the public’s trust and confidence in the Judicial Branch. The Superior Court in Maricopa County, one of the largest, most innovative and progressive trial courts in the nation, seeks innovative individuals to join our team who will embrace our vision of excellence and the principles inherent in the Rule of Law...every person, every day, every time.  We fulfill these principles through a culture that values fairness, respect, integrity, innovation, and safety.

Position Qualifications

Minimum qualifications are defined by Arizona State Statute. Commissioners of the Superior Court may serve as Judge Pro Tempore during their regular duties. The minimum qualifications defined by Arizona State Statute are that a candidate for the position must:

• Possess United States Citizenship
• Be a resident of Maricopa County at the time of appointment
• Be of good moral character
• Be a duly licensed member of the State Bar of Arizona
• Be a resident of the State of Arizona for a period of not less than five years immediately preceding appointment
• Be admitted to the practice of law in the state of Arizona for not less than five years immediately preceding appointment
• Not have any disciplinary matters pending before the State Bar Disciplinary Board
• Commissioners serve from time to time as judges pro tempore in the course of their regular duties. The Arizona Constitution, Article VI, §22 requires that judicial nominees must be at least 30 years of age.
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Our Preferred Candidate Has:

• Achievement or distinction in various areas of the law and litigation consistent with the duties of the Commissioner position 

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities:

Knowledge Of:

• Legal principles and precedents and their application
• The statutory and constitutional law of the State of Arizona
• Family, Civil, Criminal and Constitutional Administrative Law 

Skill In:

• Establishing and maintaining cooperative working relationships
• Using logic and reasoning to evaluate and choose between conflicting alternatives based on partial or incomplete information 

Ability To:

• Present statements of fact and law through clear communication and logic in written and oral form
• Define issues, perform legal research, analyze problems, evaluate and make appropriate findings and recommendations 

Essential Job Tasks

(This is not an all-inclusive list of all job duties that may be required; employees will be required to perform other related duties as assigned.)

• Hear a variety of cases in Criminal, Civil, Family, Probate, and Juvenile Court departments
• During the course of hearing cases interpret, enforce and carry out current laws
• May be assigned to the Initial Appearance Court, which will include evenings and weekends.  May also be assigned to a location such as the Maryvale Mental Health building or Desert Vista Hospital.   Assignments may last more than one year
• Exercise the same powers and duties as a Judge of the Superior Court in assigned cases, with the same jurisdiction 

Examples of duties in Criminal, Juvenile and Family are below:

• Criminal: conduct arraignments, handle a pretrial calendar, preside over trials
• Juvenile delinquency: conduct detention hearings, pre-trials, adjudication hearings, disposition hearings, and probation violation hearings
• Juvenile dependency: conduct adjudication hearings, permanency planning, guardianship and adoption hearings
• Family law: conduct child support calendars, including Order to Show Cause and contempt.

Working Conditions: 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee may need to communicate clearly, perceive details of objects that are close by, and maintain various physical positions for extended periods, such as sitting, standing, or walking. The job may involve using hands for tasks such as typing, handling objects, or operating tools, as well as reaching with hands and arms. Occasionally, the employee may be required to move or lift objects weighing up to 20 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.

Selection Procedure - Maricopa County

The Maricopa County Human Resources Department reserves the right to admit to the selection process only those candidates considered to be the most highly qualified. Those selected will be assessed based on the evaluation of listed education and experience. The hiring authority will interview and select the successful candidate from a list provided by Human Resources.

All offers of employment made to new hires and rehires at Maricopa County are contingent upon successful completion of a post-offer, pre-employment thorough background investigation. A background investigation is conducted on a current employee who changes to a Safety Sensitive Position or one having the potential for serious adverse impact on the integrity or efficiency of the County. These requirements do not pertain to employees of elected officials who undergo background investigation processes administered through their respective offices.

Maricopa County is an EEO/ADA Reasonable Accommodation Employer.  

Apply Now!

Attention Current Maricopa County Employees: As of 1/1/2022, the Judicial Branch of Arizona in Maricopa County formalized itself as a separate entity and employer from Maricopa County. To learn more about how that may affect you please click here.

Judicial Branch Human Resources reserves the right to move forward candidates based on the information provided directly on the application. The hiring authority will select the successful candidate based on departmental needs. 

Typically, successful candidates are hired at a salary rate up to the midpoint of the range, based on applicable experience, internal equity, and budgetary allowances. 

All Judicial Branch offers of employment and continued employment are contingent upon passing a thorough background and/or fingerprint check. Applicants must completely and fully answer any questions regarding felony and misdemeanor convictions including any convictions that have been expunged or set aside. Failure to include criminal history information is grounds for termination of an offer and employment. A conviction may not automatically disqualify an applicant. 

Judicial Branch facilities are located throughout Maricopa County.  This position may be reassigned to other locations.  Assignments will be made based upon the needs of the department.

The Judicial Branch in Maricopa County is an EEO/ADA Reasonable Accommodation Employer. 

Apply Now!