Welcome to the “Justice Corner”
Hello all, Welcome to the “Justice Corner”
I am Judge Sharron L. Sauls, I was elected as Justice of the Peace to the Kyrene Justice Court precinct in 2018 and officially sworn in on January 9, 2019.
I earned a Master of Legal Studies from the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law at ASU, a Bachelor in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse, as well as certifications in Mediation, one being from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Prior to being elected as Justice of the Peace (JP) for the Kyrene Justice Court, I served the cities of Phoenix and Chandler on committees affecting housing, human services, and domestic violence and have close to 30 years of experience in housing law, including HUD regulations, Fair Housing requirements, and city code enforcement, as well as 30 years of social service experience.
Since being sworn in I have served on several Maricopa County Court Committees. Such as the Justice Courts Best Practices Committee, I presently serve on the Supreme Courts Commission on the Impact of Domestic Violence and the Arizona Supreme Courts Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, and I serve on the Justice Courts Pro-Tem Judge Committee.
Although I am a full-time judge, I feel that the most important job I hold is that of being the best parent I can be to my two amazing children. I am also an author of several children’s books and a fictional novel with two more books on the way. I love traveling to other countries, doing Pilates and spending time alone.
When deciding to run for Justice of the Peace, I had a goal of being the best Servant Leader possible, who would ensure that all parties involved would receive fair and equitable justice. My purpose today is the same, therefore, when you come to the Justice Corner, you will receive information that will assist you as you maneuver through the justice system. (Please note, these articles serve as information only. This is not legal advice, nor will there be any political commentary.)
Since today is my first article, I wanted to introduce you to the courts. There are 26 justice courts throughout the valley. Soon to be 27. When you appear in court it is based on where your alleged crime or incident occurred, or where the defendant resides. This means that a resident who is being evicted can reside in Ahwatukee, and the owner of a home can live out of state. The tenant will be served and required to appear in the jurisdiction in which he/she resides not the landlords/owner’s jurisdiction. If a litigant receives a traffic violation in Tempe but they reside in Peoria for example, they will have to attend court in the Kyrene Justice Court, because the alleged incident occurred in the Kyrene Precinct.
The Kyrene Justice Court precinct encompasses, Ahwatukee, West Tempe and Guadalupe. The Kyrene Precinct also presides over several freeways: both 202’s, the I10, the 143 and the 347 and part of the 60 freeway. Kyrene shares boundaries with Chandler, San Marcos Justice Court, Tempe University Lakes and South Mountain Justice Courts.
The justice courts oversee; small claims laws suit up to $3500, civil law suits up to $10,000 and misdemeanor (non-felony cases, such as DUI’s, Criminal Speed, and Domestic Violence, to name a few. Justice Courts also oversee cases such as evictions, orders of protections and Injunctions against harassment, truancy, open liquor containers, selling tobacco or liquor to a minor, underage drinking, resisting arrest, overfishing, and multiple types of traffic violations such as unsafe lane changes, seatbelt violations, CDL truckdriver violations, texting and driving.
For more information on the Justice courts, please stay tuned for the next May edition of the Justice Corner.
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