Judicial Profile

Specific Comments or Advice for Litigants

Specific Requirements or Preferences

Judge Valenzuela’s Division can be contacted by phone at 602-372-2961.  
The Division’s email address is: CVJ21@JBAZMC.Maricopa.gov.  
The Judicial Assistant is Chrystal Castro.  
The Courtroom Assistant is Randy Collins.  
 
The Microsoft Teams Meeting link to join the virtual courtroom is: http://www.tinyurl.com/jbazmc-cvj21  
If you have technical difficulties appearing by video, you may appear by phone by dialing: 1 917-781-4590 Conference ID: 105 414 319#  
However, video appearance is the preference of the Court.  
 
The Court expects lawyers and all parties to treat each other, opposing parties, court staff, and everyone with respect and professionalism. Harassment, bias, or prejudice on the basis of race, sex, gender, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status, socioeconomic status, or affiliation is strictly prohibited.  
 
Be on time for your hearing. The Court will start the clock at the scheduled time, whether the parties are present or not. Budget your time and finish on time. Except in extraordinary circumstances, you will be held to your allotted time, even if you are in the middle of cross-examination. You will know beforehand how much time has been allotted to you. The Court will occasionally notify you of your remaining time, but you may ask at any time for a time check.  
 
The Court will not accept non-emergency pleadings by email. Except in true emergency situations, the Court will rule only on properly filed pleadings.  
 
Emails that are ex parte will be deleted with no further action taken. Court staff cannot provide legal advice, clarify, or explain rulings issued by the Court. Due to a high volume of emails received daily, Court staff will only respond to urgent matters and emergencies, and in the order that they were received. Please do not email courtesy copies of non-urgent filings, as this will overload the email system and delay the time to respond to emergencies. Non-urgent filings will be addressed in the normal course (1 to 3 business days).

Pre-Trial Practice and Management Issues

Motion Practice

Motions, responses, and related pleadings shall comply with the page length, font type, and other requirements of the Rules. If an extension of response or reply time is necessary, try to reach an agreement among the parties, and submit a stipulation. If you file a motion for leave to exceed the page length of a pleading, you will need to provide specific reasons. A generic statement that you need more pages may result in denial of your motion.  
 
The Division requires that all motions, responses, replies, and other Court requested filings in this case be submitted individually. Do not combine any motion with a responsive pleading (No omnibus motions). All motions are to be filed separately and designated as such. No pleadings will be accepted if filed in combination with another.  
 
Motions or stipulations shall be filed with a proposed order. If a proposed order is applicable to the motion, and it is not submitted with the motion, the Court reserves the right to reject the motion until it is accompanied by a proposed form of order.  
 
Motions to Strike: Motions to Strike are strongly discouraged and often are not even countenanced by the Rules. Make your point in your responsive pleading.  
 
Scheduling Hearings: The Court requires a written motion or stipulation to schedule, reschedule, or vacate hearings. The Court will not schedule, reschedule, or vacate hearings without the filing of a motion. In regard to any substantive evidentiary hearings or oral arguments that are not set during a hearing, the Court will set a virtual status conference in order to schedule a date and time for the substantive hearing.  
 
Oral Argument: If the Court believes that oral argument may assist in making a decision, the Court will schedule one. The Court sets oral arguments for a specific period of time, and the parties will usually receive equal time within that period.  
 
Judge Valenzuela does not require courtesy hard copies of pleadings, unless you are submitting deposition designations per the procedure noted in the Trial Setting Minute Entry. Only then are paper copies of designated deposition transcripts with objections and response charts/annotations helpful.  
 
No party should file supplemental briefing without leave of Court.  
Page limits will not be exceeded without leave of Court.  
The Court permits only one Motion for Summary Judgment per party absent leave of Court for good cause shown.  
 
Absent leave of Court for good cause shown, each party may file no more than five Motions in Limine. Motions in Limine should address only matters that are extremely prejudicial and could result in a mistrial. Motions in Limine should not be filed in bench trials without leave of Court. Motions in Limine asking the Court to enforce a particular rule of evidence should not be filed. Motions in Limine are to be no more than four pages in length and responses are to be no more than four pages in length. There are no replies.  

Discovery or Disclosure Disputes and/or Sanctions

This Division requires strict compliance with Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26(d), the Expedited Procedure for Resolving Discovery and Disclosure Disputes. All disputes between parties that could be addressed in motions for protective order under Rule 26(c) or motions to compel discovery or disclosure under Rule 37(a) must first proceed pursuant to Rule 26(d). The Court may decide to later permit full briefing under Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26(d)(1), but the parties may not engage in full briefing without the advance permission of the Court. Attempted full briefing without advance permission of the Court subjects any such motion by a party to summary denial.

Other Pre-trial Practice Guidelines or Comments

When calling a virtual witness during a trial or hearing, please ensure you or co-counsel are in communication with the witness, so they are aware of when to connect to the virtual proceeding. Trial/hearing time is limited and precious.  
 
When the Rule of Exclusion, Ariz. R. Evid. 615, has been invoked, all counsel should inform the witnesses of its invocation and meaning. All counsel and parties should be vigilant to ensure that no witnesses enter the courtroom, or dial-in or link-in to the courtroom while other witnesses are testifying, which is a violation of the rule.  
 
Trials and Evidentiary Hearings: Rule 8(c), (d), (e), and (f) will apply.  
 
Hybrid Hearings: The Court has the capability of conducting a "hybrid" hearing, such that some participants can be in the courtroom, and others can be participating virtually. The parties will need to comply with Rule 8(c) and (d) to effectuate such a request.  
 
Settlement: The Court expects the parties to have attempted settlement prior to trial.  
 
In all cases, a further prerequisite to setting a Trial or Evidentiary Hearing is that all discovery shall be completed. Completion of discovery includes resolution of all discovery disputes.  
 
If you settle your case, please notify the Court immediately and send Court Staff an email with your stipulated notice of settlement, so the Court can vacate the trial/hearing.  
 
Trial Time: Typically, when scheduling trial, the Court will defer to the parties concerning the amount of courtroom time the parties require to adequately present their respective cases. The Court still reserves its discretion to set the amount of trial time. Generally, each side will be allotted half of the time to present their case.  
 
The Court expects the parties to complete trial within the time allotted. Generally, the Court will deny a request for additional trial time on the day of trial unless the parties have acted in good faith, made appropriate use of the time allotted, and still require additional time to fairly present evidence to the Court. If additional time is granted, the trial may likely be continued to a later date.

Trial Practice and Protocol

Trial Schedule

The calendar begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m.  
The Court breaks for lunch daily from noon to 1:30 p.m.  
 
Trial starts at 8:30 a.m. on Jury Selection Day.  
 
There will be a 15-minute mid-morning break and a 15-minute mid-afternoon break during trial.  
 
Trials are held Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  

Joint Pre-Trial Memo and/or Conference; Exhibits and Objections

Objections for Untimely or Non-Disclosure: In the event evidence or testimony is objected to on the basis of non-disclosure or untimely disclosure, the parties must be prepared to demonstrate compliance or non-compliance with Rule 26.1. This is usually done by showing disclosure statements, emails, or other relevant documents. The parties must have them available in the courtroom. A party defending against a disclosure challenge must be prepared to immediately show the Court where and when that party disclosed the relevant subject matter. If a party asserts that the disclosure came in a deposition, then that party must be prepared to point to the relevant portion of the deposition. The Court may overrule an objection for untimely disclosure or non-disclosure if no documentary evidence is provided. The Court may sanction a party that makes unfounded disclosure objections as well.  
 
Exhibits: All exhibits must be submitted through Case Center (formally CaseLines). Each party must register with Case Center at: digitalevidence.azcourts.gov. The site has links to training resources that will guide you through uploading exhibits and navigating Case Center. The courtroom clerk will email each party (or attorney of record) a case-specific link that the party will use to upload exhibits. The Court does not use bench copies of exhibits. The Court does not use jury exhibit notebooks.

Jury Selection

Prescreening of potential jurors are conducted electronically.  
The Division uses the struck method where the entire panel is questioned.  
Counsel is provided a short period of time to ask follow-up questions. This generally should not exceed 15 to 30 minutes. The Court will typically seat 8-10 jurors and counsel are asked to seriously consider having the alternate deliberate.

Trial Practice and Procedure

NOTE: Although this section pertains to "Trial Practice," these protocols apply to any trial or evidentiary hearing.  
 
Trial Objections: Objections should be stated only as legal objections (e.g. "hearsay") and not as speaking objections. If the Court needs clarification of an objection, it will ask. If the Court deems the speaking objection to be unduly long, it may assess time against the objecting party.  
 
Admission of Exhibits: The Court will not grant blanket admission of exhibits, even if counsel stipulate to their admission. Counsel will need to separately offer any exhibits that are relevant to the case. This is important to remember, so you can include this factor when you are budgeting your time.  
 
If the Court admits lengthier exhibits, such as bank statements, medical records, etc., the Court will only consider those specific portions of the exhibits that are referenced during the hearing or trial. The Court will not review the entire exhibit to try to locate a relevant portion. You will have to tell the Court where you want it to look. This applies equally to depositions that have been submitted but not filed as exhibits. The Court will only consider those portions of a deposition to which the party has specifically referred during the trial or hearing. This requirement is supported by Best Choice Fund, LLC v. Low &  
Childers, P.C., 228 Ariz. 502, 508 n.3 (App. 2011). The trial court should not be required "to perform counsel's work by searching the record to attempt to discover facts which establish or defeat [the party's position] ... These are tasks which must be left to counsel.” Mast v. Standard Oil Co., 140 Ariz. 1, 2 (1984).  
 
Redirect Examination of a Witness: Pursuant to Rule 611(a) of the Rules of Evidence, the Court limits redirect examination of a witness to issues that were raised during cross-examination of that witness.

Courtroom Etiquette

Courtroom ECB-812 is an electronic courtroom. All proceedings are recorded using FTR ("For the Record"). If you need assistance with the electronic equipment, please schedule an appointment with the Courtroom Assistant.  
 
Counsel may move around the courtroom, however, should request permission to approach the witness. Objections should be short and succinct. No speaking objections are allowed. If the Court wants a response or further discussion, the Court will ask. You may stand or sit at counsel's table or use the podium.  
 
Please remind individuals who observe court that they are expected to be courteous and abide by courtroom etiquette.  
 
No cameras are allowed in the courtroom, absent court order.  
All cell phones must remain silent or "do not disturb" mode.  
Water and beverages are allowed, however, no food or chewing gum.

Other Courtroom Policies and Recommendations

No Photographs or Recordings: Anyone who records or photographs court hearings without prior approval may be subject to involvement with security and/or contempt proceedings.  
 
Digital Recording System (FTR or Microsoft Teams): A record is made using FTR "For the Record" audio/video recording system and/or Microsoft Teams.  
 
To order a copy of the audio/video record after the hearing, please contact Electronic Record Services at: 602-506-7100, or through email at: ERS@superiorcourt.maricopa.gov. The FTR Player software can be downloaded at: www.fortherecord.com.  
 
The FTR/Microsoft Teams system is in place to avoid the need, expense, and additional administrative steps of hiring a Court Reporter. However, if a party prefers the presence of a Court Reporter, a "Request for Court Reporter" must be filed no less than 10 days before the hearing. The party must pay the Court Reporter's deposit (usually the cost of the first day) no later than two judicial days before the hearing. The cost for a minimum half day and for a full day are available on the Court's website.  
 
Special accommodations: Requests for reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities must be made five days before the hearing. Requests for an interpreter for persons with limited English proficiency must be made 10 days in advance of the hearing.