Jurisdiction and Role of the Arizona Court of Appeals

The state of Arizona actually has two appellate courts: the Arizona Court of Appeals Division 1 and Arizona Court of Appeals Division 2. Division One will hear appeals on cases regarding unployment compensation cases from the Department of Economic Security, the Industrial Commission and Tax Court rulings. Division Two will hear all other appeals including civil and criminal rulings.

These Arizona Courts of Appeals are considered the intermediate appellate courts of the state, as there is also a court of last resort - the Arizona Supreme Court. This means that if an appeal makes it to the supreme court, their ruling is final.

The Arizona Court of Appeals judges are required to be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the state and have practiced law for at least five years prior to sitting on the bench.

The website for the Court of Appeals, Division 1 is http://azcourts.gov/coa1/Home.aspx. Information regarding the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division II may be found at http://www.appeals2.az.gov/. Recent opinions, court calendars, case searches and online forms are available at these sites.

The Arizona Supreme Court is the highest court in the state, but may use discretion in determining which cases it will hear or not. However, if a defendant has been sentenced to death by a judge, this court will always review the case.

Five justices serve on the court, and their term is six years long.  They will also oversee admittanceof a new attorney to the state's bar association, and review accusations of attorney misconduct. Supreme court justices may also discipline other judges when recommendations for such actions are submitted to them.

In order to serve on the Arizona Supreme Court, a judge must be a resident of the state and have at least 10 years of experience practicing law in the state. They must also avoid campaigning for another person and holding a political office position. These justices are also required to retire at age 70. The court's decisions and case files are found at http://apps.supremecourt.az.gov/publicaccess/caselookup.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1.