Vol. 9, No. 4 April 2013
Additional Superior Court Filing Fee
The Superior Court in Maricopa County requested, and the Board of Supervisors approved, an increase of $10 to the base Court Automated Services Fee. The fee is currently $20 and will be $30 going forward once an implementation date is determined, which could be as soon as May 1. The fee is assessed upon the filing of initial complaints and answers or responses in civil, family, probate, and tax cases and in juvenile emancipation filings.
In its request, the Superior Court cited “increasing caseloads, case complexity, ongoing mandated court integration efforts and resulting staff workloads [that] have created tremendous demands on the Court’s resources.” The Board of Supervisors in each county is authorized by law to adopt fees for services the County provides to the public. The additional fee will allow Maricopa County to continue providing high-quality services to litigants and the legal community, other government agencies, and those who interact with the justice system in Maricopa County.
The County Board of Supervisors approved the fee on March 27, 2013; however, the Clerk’s Office and AZTurboCourt require programming and updates before the fee can be implemented. The Clerk’s Office will announce the effective date on its website, through social media, and in The Brief.
Juvenile ECR Phase Two
The second phase of the Juvenile Electronic Court Record (ECR) begins June 3, 2013. Phase II is the second of four phases and includes seven case types: Adoption Certification (AC), Adoption (JA), Emancipation (JE), Relinquishment (JI and JR), Orders of Protection/Injunctions Against Harassment (JP), and Severance (JS). In this Phase, all newly-filed documents in the seven case types above will be scanned, and orders in all 10 Juvenile Court case types will be scanned and electronically distributed. The electronic distribution of signed orders will be similar to the current distribution of minute entries.
Paper files will no longer be created for the above seven case types and existing cases will include both newly-filed electronic documents as of June 3, 2013 and all previously filed paper documents through June 2, 2013. Signed orders in all Juvenile case types will be available only in the ECR.
Phase I was successfully implemented on October 1, 2012 for Title 14 Guardianship (JG) cases. The Phase III implementation, which includes dependency (JD) cases, is planned for August/September 2013. The Phase IV implementation, which includes delinquency (JV) cases, is planned for October/November 2013.
There are no changes to the confidentiality of any Juvenile court records. Access to records remains the same, only the format is changing. Information about Juvenile court records is on the Clerk’s website at: www.clerkofcourt.maricopa.gov/juvenile.asp.
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