Apache County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Apache County, Arizona, is an 11,000-square-mile county with over 66,000 residents and a busy judicial system. The county operates a hierarchical court system, each court having delineated roles and having jurisdiction to address several legal matters, ranging from civil and criminal cases to juvenile, family, and probate matters. The Apache County courts play key roles in ensuring justice and order while including the rule of law across the county. The county's courts include the Superior Court, Justice Courts, and Municipal Courts.

The Superior Court, located in St. Johns, primarily handles serious criminal matters, real property, probate matters, civil matters involving $1,000 and more, and any other matter not exclusively handled by any other court. It has jurisdiction over an extensive range of matters and receives over 1,000 filings annually. The Justice Courts, which are located in Sanders, Springerville, and St. Johns, hear civil lawsuits involving $10,000 or less, criminal traffic violations, landlord and tenant disputes, as well as, handle small claims. The court also resolves misdemeanor allegations and restraining order violations, with nearly 10,000 case filings annually. The Municipal Courts primarily decide civil and criminal traffic violations and other petty offenses, administering over 1,000 cases annually.

Apache County's court system is designed to facilitate the quick administration of justice, and a large volume of cases go through the court system annually. In 2020 and 2021, the Justice Courts recorded more than 13,000 cases. Despite this volume of cases, the county's violent crime rate of about 109 incidents per 100,000 people highlights the importance of upholding the rule of law and the efficiency of the county's judicial system in ensuring this. Court records in Apache County comprise cases heard by the county's courts and any document filed before the courts. Apache County court records are properly maintained, organized, and accessible to members of the public via the Arizona case search portal.

With a structure that includes the Superior Court, Justice Courts, and Magistrate Courts each designed to handle a wide range of legal matters and a publicly accessible online case repository the Apache County court system is committed to ensuring a seamless judicial process and maintaining law and order across the county. These attributes further highlight the court system's dedication to improving transparency, reinforcing public trust in the administration of justice, and serving as a model for running an ideal judicial process in Arizona.