Maricopa judges ask supervisors to split White Tank precinct to ease overloaded justice courts

Judges from Maricopa County justice courts told the Board of Supervisors during a presentation that several precincts are handling caseloads above the statutory productivity threshold and asked the board to approve a plan that would split the White Tank Justice Court precinct and redraw boundaries across the county.

The request, delivered by Judge Lenore Driggs, presiding justice of the peace for the Arcadia Biltmore Justice Precinct, and Judge Heidi Owens of the White Tank Justice Court, emphasized rising filings and staff strain. Judge Driggs said justice courts in Maricopa County recorded 331,191 case filings in 2024 and more than 160,000 filings in the first six months of 2025; she said traffic tickets account for about 40% of justice-court workload. Driggs cited Arizona Revised Statutes Title 22 and the statutory judicial productivity credit (JPC) formula as the basis for precinct sizing and thresholds.

The judges said the county uses JPCs to measure workload; a precinct that records more than 1,200 JPCs triggers a statutory requirement for the Board of Supervisors to create additional courts or redraw precinct lines. Judge Owens told the board that White Tank’s JPCs rose from about 1,145 in May 2024 to 1,337 by November 2024 and to 1,568 by the date of the presentation. She described staff burnout, maximum physical capacity at White Tank facilities, and “errors starting” as employees are rushed.

The presentation laid out a plan to split the White Tank precinct geographically along Interstate 10, keeping the top half as White Tank with Judge Owens and creating a new precinct for the bottom half with its own judge and the current constable. The presenters said the split would also absorb portions of bordering high-volume precincts—Country Meadows and Hassayampa—to rebalance JPC totals. Judges said the proposed map generally seeks an average target of roughly 900 JPCs per court, which presenters described as “the goal” for manageable workload.

Presenters noted limited physical capacity in the West Valley: the Southwest Regional Center (where White Tank is housed) was built with shells for two additional courtrooms, but one shell currently houses adult probation and the other would require an estimated $1.2 million build-out to open as a new court. The judges said that, if the board approves boundary changes by the statutory deadline for elections, new precinct lines would need to be in place for January 2026 election administration; a new judge elected in that cycle would take office in 2027 unless the board appointed a judge earlier and funded an earlier build-out or used temporary space and a pro tem judge in the short term.

Supervisors pressed for alternatives and longer-term fixes. Supervisor Stewart and others asked whether the county could budget to open a second West Valley courtroom sooner or temporarily reassign staff, lease space, or use technology to reduce administrative load. Presenters said staff-sharing within regional centers, temporary staff loans from other courts and tech improvements (including translation aids and a move toward e-filing systems) have helped but are not sufficient to resolve the overload in the busiest precincts.

Presenters warned the board that growth trends mean the county likely will need further adjustments in coming years. They recommended the board adopt the proposed precinct boundary changes to relieve immediate burdens and offered to revisit the plan as filings and growth projections evolve.

Ending: The judges asked the Board of Supervisors to adopt the proposed plan to rebalance justice court workloads and relieve overburdened court staff. Presenters said the plan is intended as a near-term solution and that population and construction projections make additional action likely in the future.