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(a) Upon recommendation of the presiding judge of the Pima County Superior Court and subject to the appointment procedures set forth by the presiding judge, the mayor and council may appoint special magistrates, as needed, to assist in the timely adjudication of city court cases. Special magistrates shall serve a two (2) year term of office and may be reappointed to additional two (2) year terms. Any special magistrates already serving as of July 1, 2024, will serve the balance of their existing term, and any subsequent terms will be two (2) years.
(b) The compensation of a special magistrate during the term of appointment is fixed at the rate of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) for each morning, afternoon or evening session of court at which the special magistrate sits; provided, however, that such special magistrate shall receive no more compensation than would be paid to a regular magistrate each month.
(c) The powers and duties of a special magistrate shall be the same as those of a regular magistrate and shall extend beyond the period of appointment for the purpose of hearing and determining any proceeding necessary for a final determination of a cause heard by the special magistrate in whole or in part during the period of appointment.
(d) Any such candidate for special magistrate shall possess the qualifications for a magistrate set forth in Tucson Code section 8-2.1(c)(1) through (c)(3).
(e) Subject to the nomination and appointment procedures set forth in section 8.2.1(a), mayor and council shall appoint construction special magistrates possessing a demonstrated experience and familiarity of not less than five (5) years in contract and construction law to hear and decide cases arising under Tucson Code section 11-38. The compensation for such construction special magistrates shall be as set forth in subsection (b) above.
(f) Upon recommendation of the presiding judge of the Pima County Superior Court and subject to the appointment procedures set forth by the presiding judge, the mayor and council may appoint a full-time magistrate pro tempore, as needed, to assist in the timely adjudication of Tucson City Court cases. The full-time magistrate pro tempore shall serve a two (2) year term of office and may be reappointed to an additional two (2) year terms. Any full-time magistrates pro tempore already serving as of July 1, 2024, will serve the balance of their existing term, and any subsequent terms will be two (2) years. Compensation shall be set at eighty (80) percent of the city magistrate's pay with benefits during the term of the appointment.
(g) Any such candidate for full-time magistrate pro tempore shall possess the qualifications for a magistrate set forth in Tucson Code section 8-2.1(c)(1) through (c)(3).
(Ord. No. 7887, § 3, 8-3-92; Ord. No. 8835, § 1, 3-3-97; Ord. No. 8943, § 1, 9-8-97; Ord. No. 9158, § 3, 11-9-98; Ord. No. 9973, § 1, 5-17-04; Ord. No. 10063, § 1, 10-11-04; Ord. No. 10952, § 2, 12-20-11, eff. 1-1-12; Ord. No. 11111, § 1, 9-24-13, eff. 10-1-13; Ord. No. 11626, § 1, 1-20-19; Ord. No. 12110, § 1, 8-7-24)
(a) Subject to the appointment procedures set forth in section 8-2.1, the mayor and council may appoint limited special magistrates to provide for the expeditious enforcement of civil violations and civil infractions of the Tucson Code and civil traffic violations under state law. Limited special magistrates shall be full time, shall serve a two (2) year term of office, and may be reappointed to additional two (2) year terms. Any limited special magistrates already serving as of July 1, 2024, will serve the balance of their existing term, and any subsequent terms will be two (2) years.
(b) Limited special magistrates shall have concurrent jurisdiction with regular and special magistrates to hear and decide actions alleging civil violations or civil infractions of the Tucson Code and civil traffic violations under state law, and shall assume all duties referenced in the Tucson Code as being the responsibility of an administrative hearing officer.
(c) At the time of appointment, limited special magistrates must have demonstrated experience or familiarity with administrative proceedings, technical codes or traffic law.
(d) The compensation to be received by limited special magistrates shall be as set from time to time by the mayor and council and shall include the same fringe benefits as provided to regular magistrates.
(Ord. No. 7887, § 4, 8-3-92; Ord. No. 8179, § 1, 1-3-94; Ord. No. 9398, § 1, 6-12-00; Ord. No. 10063, § 2, 10-11-04; Ord. No. 12110, § 1, 8-7-24)
(a) Pursuant to A.R.S. § 41-1750, the City of Tucson is hereby authorized to receive criminal history record information for the purpose of evaluating the fitness of current and prospective city court magistrates.
(b) Each person who seeks to be appointed as a regular, special, or limited special city court magistrate or full-time magistrate pro tempore shall, as part of such appointment application process, furnish a full set of fingerprints to the city.
(c) Pursuant to A.R.S. § 41-1750 and Public Law 92-544, the city shall submit such fingerprints accompanied by the appropriate fees, which will be paid by the city, to the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record information on all individuals identified in Section 1, subpart B. Such information shall be used only for the purpose of evaluating the fitness of such current and prospective city court magistrates.
(d) The city shall comply with any relevant State and Federal rules and regulations that may relate to the dissemination of such criminal history record information.
(Ord. No. 9085, § 1, 7-6-98; Ord. No. 12110, § 1, 8-7-24)
Any justice of the peace, upon assuming office, is appointed as a special magistrate of the city for the specific purpose of presiding over arraignments, initial appearances and any conflict case(s) or other case(s) designated by the presiding magistrate of the Tucson City Court involving any state law or city ordinance.
(Ord. No. 9971, § 1, 5-17-04; Ord. No. 10155, § 1, 5-24-05; Ord. No. 10996, § 1, 6-19-12, eff. 7-1-12; Ord. No. 11653, § 1, 5-21-19; Ord. No. 12110, § 1, 8-7-24)
City court shall always be open except on nonjuridical days. On such nonjuridical days, it may transact business within its jurisdiction.
(1953 Code, ch. 9A, §§ 2, 3; Ord. No. 1956, § 2, 9-8-59; Ord. No. 4679, § 3, 6-27-77; Ord. No. 7733, § 3, 12-9-91)
Each magistrate of the city court, in addition to exercising such judicial authority as provided in the Charter and Code of the city and the laws of the state shall:
(1) Devote their entire time to the duties of being a magistrate and shall not engage in the private practice of law.
(2) Observe, be available, and be present in attendance upon the court for the transaction of business every juridical day between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. In addition to such hours, a magistrate may open court and be in attendance at the court during such additional hours of any juridical or nonjuridical day as may be necessary for the discharge or disposition of business properly coming before the court.
(3) Dispose with all reasonable promptness all matters taken under advisement and, in any event, issue a decision no later than twenty (20) days thereafter.
(4) Issue a minute entry of the court's judgment in all matters wherein disposition was based upon legal grounds rather than upon the factual merits of the matter, specifying therein the legal conclusion underlying the court's judgment.
(5) Follow and adhere to supervision by the presiding judge of the superior court as provided for in Arizona Supreme Court Administrative Order 93-30, and any amendment or successor to this provision.
(6) Follow and adhere to the city's rules of conduct and code of ethics contained in administrative directive 2.02-5 and 2.02-14 and any amendments or successors to these provisions to the extent adherence to these provisions does not affect judicial independence or is not inconsistent with the Code of Judicial Conduct.
(Ord. No. 4679, § 12, 6-27-77; Ord. No. 5169, § 3, 6-16-80; Ord. No. 7733, § 4, 12-9-91; Ord. No. 10062, § 3, 10-11-04; Ord. No. 12110, § 1, 8-7-24)
Editors Note: Ord. No. 4679, § 1, adopted June 27, 1977, specifically amended the Code by repealing former § 8-5, which had pertained to office hours and had been derived from the 1953 Code, ch. 9A, § 5. Section 12 of Ord. No. 4679 added a new § 8-5 as hereinabove set out. The section was renumbered § 8-4 and the text amended by § 4 of Ord. No. 7733.
(a) There is hereby created one administrative assignment position of Presiding Magistrate of the City Court of the City of Tucson whose function it is to assist the presiding judge of the superior court in performing administrative duties associated with the judicial and non-judicial functions of the city court.
(b) The presiding judge of the superior court is hereby authorized to appoint, in their sole discretion, any sitting city magistrate to the administrative assignment position of presiding magistrate.
(c) Any sitting city magistrate selected for assignment to the position of presiding magistrate shall serve at the pleasure of the presiding judge of the superior court, and may be removed from the administrative assignment of presiding magistrate at any time, for any reason, without cause and without right of appeal by the presiding judge of the superior court.
(d) While performing the administrative assignment of presiding magistrate, a city magistrate shall receive additional compensation in the amount of ten (10) percent of their annual salary, payable on a biweekly basis, pro-rated.
(e) The presiding magistrate shall perform those duties as required by law and this chapter and as assigned by the presiding judge of the superior court.
(Ord. No. 9042, § 1, 4-13-98; Ord. No. 10062, § 4, 10-11-04; Ord. No. 10454, § 1, 9-25-07; Ord. No. 12110, § 1, 8-7-24)
The city magistrates shall fix all bonds, bail, fines, penalties, fees and other assessments which are now or hereafter may be provided by law.
(1953 Code, ch. 9A, § 6; Ord. No. 4679, § 4, 6-27-77; Ord. No. 7733, § 7, 12-9-91)
When granting supervised probation, the city court shall, as a condition of such probation, assess a monthly probation monitoring fee reflecting the actual costs of such supervised probation, including screening sessions, any necessary testing, court-ordered treatment, and any other necessary costs of supervised probation. Such monthly probation monitoring fee shall be not less than the sum specified in A.R.S. 13-901(A), or any successor provision(s), unless, after determining the inability of the probationer to pay the fee, the city court assesses a lesser fee. Such monthly probation monitoring fee may be assessed only when the person is placed on supervised probation.
(Ord. No. 8521, § 1, 6-12-95)
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