Published on October 05, 2022
The City of Maricopa continues to make strides in rising to the challenge of serving the rapidly growing population. The latest advancement in that process is to establish a stand-alone Municipal Court building in Maricopa's City Center. Since the city’s incorporation in 2003 the responsibility of court services has been delegated to a co-located/shared model with the Pinal County Justice Court. Currently Maricopa is the only city in the county that does not have a stand-alone municipal court. "This was a great model for Maricopa as we were starting out, to receive assistance from a more established jurisdiction, but now growth and present needs warrant a different model,” explains Vice Mayor Vincent Manfredi. “We recently saw this happen with ADOT transferring responsibility for maintenance of SR-347 and SR-238 over to the city. Now we're taking the next step with the creation of an independent court. It's another sign the city is growing up." On Tuesday, the Mayor and Council approved a contract with Judge Stephen McCarville to lead the transition to a separate court and serve as the Interim Presiding Judge during the first year of operations. Hon. McCarville was previously elected as a Pinal County Superior Court Judge with his first term beginning January 2001. He served until June 2021, and was the Presiding Judge of the Pinal County Superior Court from 2015-2021. He is a member of the Pinal County Bar Association; Arizona Bar Association; and, American Bar Association. “The city is grateful for and recognizes the wonderful services City Magistrate/Justice of the Peace Lyle Riggs has provided to the residents of Maricopa, without which reaching this stage of development would not be possible,” shares Mayor Nancy Smith. Many options were explored on how to better serve our community: including staying with the current model of colocation with the county, running a separate municipal court out of the county facilities and having a fully independent municipal court. A fully independent municipal court was seen as the best option for our needs, both current and future. A dedicated municipal court will bring improved efficiency and effectiveness with a City Council appointed Municipal Judge who can dedicate their time and expertise to adjudicate city ordinances and codes. The court will provide services for misdemeanors, civil, orders of protection and traffic violations as well as any city ordinance violations while standing as a separate, independent branch of the city government. City Council approved the plan in September and the project is currently underway. The goal is to establish a stand-alone municipal court by the first quarter of 2023. Construction of the court facility is anticipated to take approximately 15 months. The building cost will not require any new taxes or funds to complete. Ongoing administration fees will be primarily funded by the collection of court fees. During the transition period City Hall will serve as a temporary space for court proceedings related to city matters. This interim space will provide similar benefits as a stand-alone courthouse with minimal preparation costs. The county courthouse in Maricopa will continue to operate and maintain jurisdiction over county matters.