Page 8 June 2012 Marriages only part of justice’s job By Steven Sarkis I am often surprised at the number of people saying to me: “So, as a justice of the peace, you just marry people, right?” Although marrying people from 8 to 5 every day would be nice, a justice of the peace does much more. In Maricopa County, the justice courts handle the volume of all the cases led. While a judge in a higher court might handle a handful of cases each week, a justice of the peace might get a handful of cases every hour. Cases in the higher courts often require a great deal more time as these cases involve much higher sums of money, more serious crimes and much longer sentences. Justice court cases, although still very serious, often are not as legally complex and do not require quite as much time to handle. The 25 justice courts throughout Maricopa County each encompass a different part of the county. As such, each part of the county and each court has different types of cases For instance, a judge way out West recently asked me if I had any experience with livestock liens. In this case, the plaintiff, a farm owner, led suit because the defendant stopped paying board for his horse. The defendant must have either forgotten where he left his horse or simply stopped caring about his old mare, because he quit paying for board. I respectfully told this other judge that in the concrete jungle known as the Arcadia Biltmore justice precinct we don’t often encounter such situations. And, where one court might have more criminal complaints and misdemeanors, another might have more civil lawsuits. In our community, we have the latter. Civil and small claims lawsuits are much more common in this community than criminal actions. Eviction actions, or landlord/tenant disputes, also are very common. In 2011, more than 350,000 cases were led in the Maricopa County justice courts. Within the Arcadia Biltmore Continued on page 18 Justice Steven Sarkis 602-277-8254 S C W INC INC The premier collision and paint shop in the Phoenix metropolitan area! We represent your interests with the insurance company. BMW, Mercedes and Lexus factory trained Free pick-up & delivery • Towing service available Free Estimates 602-277-8254 4620 N. 7th Ave • Phoenix, AZ 85013 www.scottscoachworks.com BMW *Sage facials incorporate local raw honey & organic goats milk yogurt for a blissful and holistic experience! t l l h & i t ilk t f bli f l d h li 4636 North 32nd Street | 480.336.0042 info@sageorganics.az.com | www.sageorganics.az.com 75-minute Signature Organic Facial* & Lip and Brow Thread/Sugar Value $105.00 June Facial Special $65 June Facial Special $65 TREAT YOURSELF TO A GIFT OF HOLISTIC BEAUTY... Taste of the Sign up for news & special offers at ajsfinefoods.com Escape to Paradise with the tantalizing tastes of the Tropics through July 1st

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