Karina Dominguez, Indian Country Today
First Published: Nov 8, 2022 11:34 AM
Arizona — For the first time ever, seven Native American women will sit on a bench after Election Day in Arizona.
The five will serve terms at the Judiciary Court level and will sit on the bench in addition to Hopi Federal District Court Judge Diane Khmeteva and recently appointed Superior Court Judge Charlene Jackson Dineh.
Magistrates oversee misdemeanors, domestic violence cases, civil cases involving less than $10,000 in dispute, landlord-tenant disputes, and a variety of other civil and criminal traffic violations such as DUIs.
Each county has a judicial court, and the number of judges in a county varies by population size.
Deborah Begay of Diné was elected in 2021 as Maricopa County’s first Native American Justice of the Peace to the Moon Valley District. Her current term ends on January 1, 2025.
Susie Nelson of Diné is a magistrate at the Kayenta Court of Justice. She is seeking re-election this year and is running unopposed. She was first appointed to the bench by Navajo County in 2007.
Board of Supervisors after a former judge retired.
Three other judges running for this year’s election are also in the spotlight as they are also running without voting.
Sara Mae Williams, Tohono O’odham, is running for election to Pima County Magistrate District 3. Although it is her first time running for a magistrate, she has been elected to the Baboquivari Unified School District Board of Directors since 2011. Until 2020.
Arizona Senator Victoria Steele (Seneca Mingo) and State Representative Jennifer Jermaine (White Earth Ojibwe), both whose terms in Congress are ending next year, will be taking action for peace justice in their respective counties. It is up for mid-term voting in the election.
“I am very excited to be the next magistrate at the San Marcos Judicial Court in the City of Chandler under the Maricopa County Court System,” Jermaine said.
Some have called the move from the state legislature to the judicial court a politician’s retirement plan, but both Steele and Jermaine say the decision was much deeper than that.
“For me, it was about continuing my research on domestic violence and where victims intersect with their experience in court. ‘ said Jermaine.
Jermaine says joining the Arizona Missing and Killed Indigenous Research Commission means bringing a valuable perspective to the trials of victims of domestic violence.
“Because you can see all the different aspects of the scenario, and how different jurisdictions can intersect and navigate and help victims, it makes me a good magistrate.” I think it will help you become a better person,” Jermaine said.
