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Vol. 12, No. 8 August 2016
Noteworthy Legislation
The legislation noted below is either in effect now, effective later this
week, or takes effect on January 1, 2017. Most new legislation begins on the
general effective date of Saturday, August 6, 2016. For more information on
legislation, visit the State Bar’s website or look for trade organizations that
track changes in Arizona.
Family Court practitioners and process servers should note that
preliminary injunctions will need to be served in family court proceedings to
establish legal decision making or parenting time where the couple was never
married. SB 1297
updated the statutes to treat the children of once-married and never-married
couples the same when initiating certain court filings. The Clerk’s Office will
look for one of the required documents in an initial filing (child’s birth
certificate, acknowledgment of paternity, adoption order, or court order
establishing paternity) before filing the case and issuing the injunction for
service. The statutory change does not apply to support-only cases filed by the
state. Understand that family court case records are generally available as
public records while adoption case records are not. Filing a copy of an
adoption order or child’s birth certificate with the family court petition will
result in those documents being filed in the public record. Carefully review whether a rule or exception
requires or allows redacting or modifying information before filing documents
in the family court case.
Remember that the Clerk’s Office does not screen filed documents for
content. Statutes and rules prohibit parties from filing certain information or
require redacting that information before filing. New legislation regarding
private images (HB
2001 – in effect now) and witness information (HB 2383) may
restrict or prohibit what can be submitted for filing into the public record.
Practitioners in probate and juvenile case types will have more
consistency and communication between courts starting January 1, 2017. When a
filing falls under SB
1296, it will help the court and all parties to cite both the juvenile and
probate case numbers in documents. It may be necessary to file a copy of
documents and orders in each case when the document or order affects both cases.
Understand that probate case records are generally available as public records
while juvenile case records are not. Carefully review whether a rule or
exception requires or allows redacting or modifying information before filing
documents in the probate case.
eFiling Guidelines Update -
Sealed
The Clerk and Presiding
Judge recently updated eFiling Guideline 2.09 “Documents not permitted to be
electronically filed.” When electronically filing through the Clerk’s portal
and through AZTurboCourt, filers can now e-file a motion or stipulation to file
under seal. However, note that the motion or stipulation will be filed in the
public record. Do not include anything in the motion, stipulation, or related
documents that you are asking the court to seal from public access. There is
currently no process for lodging documents with the Clerk’s Office and we do
not review the content of documents for information that should not be in the
public record. After the court grants the motion or stipulation to file under seal,
put the documents or information to be sealed in an envelope, attach the
court’s order to the outside of the envelope, and bring it to a Clerk’s file
counter for filing under seal. The updated eFile Guidelines are online at https://efiling.clerkofcourt.maricopa.gov/efilingguidelines/.
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