Judicial Profile

Specific Comments or Advice for Litigants

Specific Requirements or Preferences

Non-contested hearings are presumptively held virtually. The Court expects that lawyers will appear with both video and audio. The Court prefers that non-lawyer participants in the proceedings also appear by video and audio. Trials will be presumptively in person, but the Court will consider requests to hold trials virtually. The Court does not conduct virtual settlement conferences and will not permit virtual appearances from any party.  
 
For lawyers, please avoid having two hearings in two different courtrooms at the same time. Given that hearings are set every 15 minutes three days a week, it is almost impossible to accommodate a late start where I have another hearing set just 15 minutes later. While the Court appreciates notice that an attorney may be late (and recognizes that sometimes it is out of their control) the Court may have to simply reset hearings if an attorney cannot appear on time.  
 
The division Judicial Assistant can be reached at Alyssa.Rodriguez@JBAZMC.Maricopa.Gov. The division phone number is 602-506-7618

Pre-Trial Practice and Management Issues

Motion Practice

If you file a motion that is time sensitive, please email the division with a copy and note the opposing part/counsel's position. This is especially true for motions to continue.  
 
Fully drafted proposed forms of order must be submitted with all motions and petitions.  
 
No party should include more than one motion/petition in a single filing or combine a response/objection and a motion/petition or a reply and a motion in one filing (with the exception of a true cross-motion for summary judgment). This applies to requests for attorneys' fees or sanctions. A separate petition/application/motion should make such requests.  
 
If you request an oral argument, ensure that your presentation does not simply reiterate matters from the briefs.  
 
Please start or end your motions by telling me EXACTLY what you would like the Court to order. Often, the Court receives motions that do not ask for specific relief and just ask for the Court to do what it thinks is appropriate. The Court is likely to deny these motions.  
 
 

Discovery or Disclosure Disputes and/or Sanctions

The parties or their counsel must speak directly, either in-person or on the phone, with one another BEFORE getting the Court involved in a discovery dispute. If your efforts to resolve the dispute fail, do not file anything. Both parties or counsel shall jointly call this division and set up a telephonic discovery conference. We will make every effort to get you in within a couple of days.

Other Pre-trial Practice Guidelines or Comments

Motions in Limine shall not be filed in bench trials without leave of the Court. 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 extremely prejudicial matters, which could result in a mistrial. Motions in Limine should not be filed on routine evidentiary matters. 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 no more than four pages in length. There are no replies.  
 

Trial Practice and Protocol

Trial Schedule

The Court relies on the time the parties or their attorneys estimate for trial and expects that trials will be completed within that time. The Court will not run into lunch or after 4:30, as that is an imposition on court staff.  
 
When I am in a trial, I am very mindful of everyone's time. To that end, the Court expects counsel to be ready to go exactly at the scheduled time and to have the witnesses scheduled so that there are no gaps.  
 
Should a jury trial be necessary, the Court will use electronic jury questionnaires and remote jury selection.

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

The Court expects a meaningful joint pre-trial memo drafted by all parties together. Separate joint pre-trial statements are generally unacceptable as they do not encourage the parties to work together to find common ground and narrow disputed issues.  
 
Stipulated admission of exhibits is encouraged, but not as a substitute for presenting the evidence to the witnesses and asking them to explain how it relates to the ultimate facts the Court is being asked to find. I will not allow parties to simply stipulate to all of the exhibits being admitted unless there are only a few.  
 
If your presentation or exhibits will involve voluminous records, please make sure you point me to the relevant portions. Additionally, summaries of exhibits are useful tools to educate the court, provided in addition to the voluminous records.

Trial Practice and Procedure

Counsel/parties are generally free to move around the courtroom during the trial, but should request permission the first time to approach the witness.  
 
Objections should be short and succinct. No speaking objections are allowed. If the Court wants a response or further discussion, it will ask for it.  
 
We have electronic equipment in the courtroom, which counsel are free to use. Please make an appointment with court staff before the trial to learn how to use the equipment.

Courtroom Etiquette

Please be courteous to my staff. Remember that they can be helpful to you. But, please do not ask them legal advice. They are not lawyers and they cannot answer those questions.  
 
Please do not argue with the other party. Your comments should be directed to the Court.  
 
My courtroom operates under two rules, which are not part of the Rules of Probate Procedure, but are among the best rules ever written. First, Rule 6 of the Rules of Procedure for the Juvenile Court provides that proceedings "shall be conducted as informally as the requirements of due process and fairness permit..." Second, former Rule 80 of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure provided, "trials shall be conducted in an orderly, courteous, and dignified manner." Please be mindful of these rules when appearing in my Court.  
 

Other Courtroom Policies and Recommendations

Myself or my staff will often communicate with attorneys and their staff by email for various reasons. If I or one of my staff members contacts you by email, please respond promptly, even if it is just to acknowledge the email and estimate when you will be able to respond substantively. While I understand email etiquette frowns on a reply to all, in the case of emails from the Court it is essential to avoid ex parte communications. We will never contact just one side and the parties must make sure that everyone is copied on all communications to the Court.  
 
On a related point, the parties or their lawyers should not copy the court on their email spats. The court will not consider them and it just makes everyone look less professional.  
 
I try to make myself as accessible to the parties as possible. Attorneys may contact my judicial assistant if a problem arises that I would likely be able to address through a brief status conference.  
 
If something has been pending and you have waited for a reasonable amount of time but have not heard from us, please reach out to my staff. Keep in mind, however, that we often have to allow time to pass before we act, to give the opposing party a chance to respond or for a variety of other reasons. My staff works very hard. Please be courteous to them.