“That’s how I started. I went from being a full-time magistrate to being a full-time judge on the judicial court and then a part-time high court judge,” said Dan Slayton of Coconino County Superior Court. the judge said. judge.

Coconino County Superior Court currently employs three full-time professional judges: Brent Harris, Joshua Steinlage, and Angela Kircher. Protem judges receive the same compensation as elected judges and can all handle the same cases.

Protem often stands in for judges when they are on vacation, in training, or when they decline due to a conflict of interest. In Coconino County, full-time judges fill the void and ease the burden on elected judges.

By law, each county in Arizona can elect only a certain number of judges. Their number is limited by the county’s population size.

Coconino County has more cases than elected judges alone can handle with any degree of judicial convenience. As a result, appointed judges have long played an important role in courts.

Coconino County Superior Court Administrator Sharon Yates said, “Our Board of Supervisors and county management believe that the number of population-elected departments is not what we need to support our work. We were lucky because we knew that.”

Coconino County Attorney’s Office statistics show that 49% of defendants indicted in 2022 lived outside Coconino County and 28% of crime victims visited the area.

“Take Yavapai County, for example. Told. “If we were just ordinary people all year round, we might not need so many Judge Protems. On the other hand, there are so many cases. [involving people] From out of state and out of state. ”

The backlog of cases caused by the pandemic only exacerbated the problem of high volume of cases.

At one point, Mr. Slayton estimated there were 80 criminal cases pending in the High Court. Now that number is approaching 30.

Coconino County received ARPA funding to form the 7th Division and hired Steinlage. The split helped clear the proverbial log jam caused by the delays of the pandemic. Mr. Harris was also present to prevent a pile of family law cases.

In addition to recruiting professional judges, Coconino County also utilizes the assistance of an appointed Senior Court President, a former judge with at least 10 years of experience.

The Chief Justice’s role is more limited than that of the Protem, but he is still able to address many important issues.

“We received funding from the Office of Court Management for our outstanding litigation, in addition to the funding that the county provided to Division 7. use for [Theodore] Campagnolo. It is also used for reconciliation meetings held by judges. [Jeff] Mr. Coker will take the lead on our behalf to resolve the outstanding case,” Yates said.

Mr. Coker, who no longer serves as chief justice of the Supreme Court, has returned from retirement to assist in litigation.

Slayton estimates that Coker helped settle 10 cases that went to trial when Steinlage left Coconino County Superior Court.

“I am very grateful to Judge Coker for arranging negotiations on a fairly serious case that was scheduled for trial,” Mr Slayton said.

Negotiating a plea bargain would reduce the number of cases competing for High Court dates, but the space itself is a problem.

“Basically, we only have five trial courts and seven judges,” Mr Slayton said. “Trying to get everyone prepared, especially when you’re dealing with trial after trial…it’s like a puzzle on your hands. Try to put all the pieces in the right order.” is needed.”

Mr. Slayton is optimistic about the prospects of the court’s existing backlog. For one thing, the problem is being solved.

“I made a commitment to campaign on this matter and am still campaigning on it,” Slayton said.

He added that courts have learned lessons from the pandemic and the whole process could be quicker in the future. For example, the court is considering updating audiovisual equipment to make it easier to meet on Zoom, he said.

“What we’re going to do from here is learn how to take advantage of the good things that have happened with the pandemic to run our cases more efficiently and effectively,” Slayton said.

Programs focused on rehabilitation, postponement and reorientation are also growing. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Health and Human Services have launched a “Pathways to Community” program to help those released from prison seek legal, social, and addiction treatment services.

“We haven’t gotten that many numbers in the initial influx, which gives us time to deal with the numbers we had to deal with in the backlog,” Slayton said.

The presiding judge gave Deputy County Attorney Ammon Barker considerable credit.

“[Barker] is working closely with the Pathways Program to prosecute and defer prosecution. He is very active in working on cases that require remediation and certification,” Slayton said.

He said the integration of tools has improved the speed of justice in the county, helping the system respond to incoming lawsuits and process delayed cases early in the COVID-19 pandemic. .

“Not just because the board gave us an extra judge. It’s also a release valve, so to speak, and that helped us,” Slayton said. “Thanks to the funding and support from the board, we have been able to start working on the outstanding issues. We are now able to handle lawsuits.”