A.R.S. tit. 22 ch. 4 — Arizona Revised Statutes Title 22 Chapter 4 — Municipal Courts

22-401. Municipal court defined The term " municipal court" as used in this title includes city or town magistrates' courts and all other courts established by law in incorporated cities and towns. 22-402. Establishment and jurisdiction A. In each city or town incorporated under the general laws of this state, there shall be a municipal court. B. Every court established pursuant to subsection A, and every court established in a city incorporated under the provisions of title 9, chapter 2, article 5 or incorporated under the provisions of a special act or charter, has jurisdiction of all cases arising under the ordinances of the city or town, and has jurisdiction concurrently with justices of the peace of precincts in which the city or town is located, of violations of laws of the state committed within the limits of the city or town. C. Notwithstanding subsections A and B and in lieu of establishing or maintaining a municipal court, a city or town may enter into an intergovernmental agreement as authorized by title 11, chapter 7, article 3 to provide the services of a municipal court, including the jurisdiction of all cases arising under the ordinances of the city or town, with either: 1. A justice of the peace in whose jurisdiction the city or town is located and the county in which the city or town is located. 2. Another city or town located within the same county as the city or town. 22-403. Presiding officer of municipal court; appointment; compensation; justice of the peace as magistrate A. The presiding officer of the municipal court shall be a magistrate, who shall be selected in a manner provided by the charter or ordinances of the city or town. The magistrate shall receive such compensation as provided by the governing body of the city or town. B. A justice of the peace in the city or town shall be eligible to the office of magistrate without thereby forfeiting his office as justice of the peace. 22-404. Disposition of fines and forfeitures A. All fines and forfeitures that are collected in a municipal court maintained by a city or town that pays the salaries of the municipal court officers shall be paid to the treasurer of the city or town in which the court is located. B. Except as otherwise provided by law, fees for the municipal court shall be established and classified as follows: Class Description Fee E Minimum clerk fee $ 17.00 Research in locating a document 17.00 Record duplication 17.00 F Per page fee Copies of any documents per page $ 0.50 C. Excluding the monies that are kept by the court pursuant to subsection D of this section, the municipal court shall monthly transmit all monies that are collected pursuant to subsection B of this section to the city or town treasurer. The city or town treasurer shall distribute or deposit all of the monies received pursuant to this subsection as follows: 1. 19.18 per cent to the state treasurer for deposit in the judicial collection enhancement fund established by section 12-113. 2. 72.51 per cent to the city or town general fund. D. 8.31 per cent of the monies transmitted pursuant to subsection C of this section shall be kept and used by the court collecting the fees in the same manner as the seven dollars of the time payment fee prescribed by section 12-116, subsection B. E. A city or town may establish and assess fees for court programs and services. 22-405. Collection of fines A. A municipal court may enforce the collection of monies owed to the municipal court for delinquent fines, fees, sanctions, penalties and restitution through execution or another appropriate process. The action shall be filed in the municipal court and shall be conducted in the same manner as civil actions in justice courts. B. A peace officer may serve writs or other process that are issued pursuant to this section. The peace officer shall abide by the procedure for service of process that is established by court rule. 22-406. Civil action to recover penalty; procedure The city or town may maintain a civil action in the municipal court for the recovery of a penalty or forfeiture provided for the violation of an ordinance. The action shall be brought and conducted as civil actions in justice courts. 22-407. Failure to make payment or disbursement of fines or forfeitures received; classification A presiding officer of a municipal court who knowingly receives a fine or forfeiture and knowingly fails or refuses or neglects to pay or disburse it according to law within thirty days after receipt thereof, is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor. 22-408. Electronic filing and access; fee A. The presiding judge of the superior court may provide for the electronic filing of documents and electronic access to municipal court records, pursuant to rules adopted by the supreme court, after consulting with the governing body of the city or town in which the municipal court is located. B. The presiding judge of the superior court may impose a fee of not more than one hundred dollars per year for an annual on-line access subscription plus a fee of not more than two dollars per minute for on-line access to municipal court records. The municipal court shall collect the fees and transmit them to the city treasurer who shall account for them separately. The municipal court shall spend monies collected by the municipal court and deposited with the city treasurer pursuant to this section to improve access to municipal court records and to pay for administrative costs related to the improved access, subject to the approval of the presiding judge of the superior court. C. If the program established pursuant to this section requires any additional expenditures by a governing body of a city or town, the presiding judge of the superior court shall obtain approval of the additional expenditure from the governing body of the city or town in which the municipal court is located. D. The monies deposited in the city treasury pursuant to this section shall be continually available for purposes consistent with the purposes of this section. E. Monies deposited pursuant to this section shall supplement monies already provided to the courts for purposes consistent with the purposes of this section. F. All filings that are made pursuant to this section are subject to the fees established pursuant to section 22-404. 22-409. Days for transaction of business With the approval of the presiding judge of the municipal court, the municipal court may transact business on the second Monday in October if the city or town is open for the transaction of business on that day. 22-421. Commencement of action; arrest or summons; examination of witnesses A. Proceedings in the municipal court for violations of ordinances committed within the corporate limits of the city or town shall be commenced by complaint under oath and in the name of the state, setting forth the offense charged, with such particulars of time, place, person and property as to enable the defendant to understand distinctly the character of the offense complained of and to answer the complaint. B. If the magistrate is satisfied that the offense complained of has been committed by the person charged, he shall issue a summons or a warrant of arrest. Before issuing a summons or warrant of arrest on a complaint, the magistrate may subpoena and examine witnesses as to the truth of the complaint. 22-422. Court record The magistrate shall keep a court record and shall enter each action and proceeding of the court in the court record. 22-423. Procedure The rules of criminal procedure for the superior court, including the provisions regarding bail, issuance of subpoenas and punishment for disobedience thereof shall apply to municipal courts so far as applicable and when not otherwise prescribed. 22-424. Bail; preparation of schedule; collection; civil deposits A. The defendant, at any time after arrest, and before conviction, shall be eligible for bail, subject to section 13-3961 and any applicable rules adopted by the supreme court. B. The presiding magistrate shall: 1. Prepare a schedule of traffic violations not involving the death of a person or any felony traffic offense, listing specific bail for each violation. 2. Permit the collection of bail, or acceptance of proper bond in lieu of bail, according to the foregoing schedule for and on behalf of the court. C. The presiding magistrate shall prepare a schedule of civil traffic violations, listing a specific deposit for each violation. The presiding magistrate shall ensure that proper deposits for civil traffic violations are accepted for and on behalf of the court. 22-425. Jury trials and appeals in municipal courts A. In the trial of offenses for violation of ordinances of cities or towns of such a nature as by the common law were not triable before a jury, no jury trial shall be granted. B. Either party may appeal from a municipal court to the superior court in the same manner as appeals are allowed from justice courts. C. A victim, as defined in section 13-4401, may bring a special action seeking to enforce any right or to challenge an order denying any right guaranteed to victims. 22-427. Authority of city or town magistrate Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, a city or town magistrate may perform his duties as authorized by law without the corporate limits of the city or town of which he is the magistrate pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement authorized by title 11, chapter 7, article 3 or of the political subdivision in which a regional jail facility is located, provided that any such regional jail facility shall be created pursuant to a joint exercise of powers agreement authorized by title 11, chapter 7, article 3, in which the city or town is a participant. 22-428. Custody of records filed; purging; destruction A. The magistrate shall maintain and dispose of all documents that are filed with the court pursuant to rules prescribed by the supreme court. B. The magistrate or the magistrate's designee shall notify the director of the Arizona state library, archives and public records of records designated for destruction pursuant to court rules. The state library shall have the opportunity in a time prescribed by court rule to review and inspect these records. During this time period, the state library may remove any of these records for storage and retrieval. C. Subsection B of this section does not apply if the director of the Arizona state library, archives and public records has previously approved the destruction of records. 22-429. Judgment; imprisonment for fine; limitation; lien A. When the defendant pleads guilty or is convicted either by the court or by a jury, the court shall pronounce judgment on the plea or verdict. A sentence of a fine or imprisonment, or both, may be pronounced on the judgment. B. If the court sentences the defendant to pay a fine, and the defendant fails to comply with the order, the court, after a hearing, may order that the defendant receive credit toward payment of the fine for jail time served in an amount that is determined by the magistrate for each one day of imprisonment. The sentence shall not extend beyond the term of imprisonment for which the defendant might be sentenced for the offense of which the defendant has been found guilty. C. A sentence that the defendant pay a fine, with or without the alternative of imprisonment, shall constitute a lien in like manner as a judgment for money rendered in a civil action.