‘Judicial accessibility’
Bill expanding federal court proceedings in Yuma awaits Trump’s OK
Yuma is one step away from being able to host most federal criminal trials and proceedings, as a bill passed by both houses of Congress awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.
Currently, a federal magistrate presides at the John M. Roll U.S. Courthouse at 98 W. 1st St., where some hearings including probate procedures can take place.
But the courthouse does not accept court filings, and under federal law, hearings requiring the presence of a U.S. District Court judge can be held in only four Arizona cities: Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott and Globe.
That law hasn’t been updated since 1948 and ignores the fact that Yuma and Flagstaff now have federal courthouses, which are limited in what proceedings they can process as a result. This means residents of rural areas must travel long distances to participate as an attorney, defendant, victim, witness, juror or in other roles.
Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls said in a statement, “Before, residents in south- western Arizona had to travel to larger cities for justice in federal court. Now, judicial accessibility and greater room for development in that arena will be able to serve our fastgrowing community.”
According to the fiscal year 2017-18 annual report for the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, 259 probation cases were supervised from the Yuma courthouse, 129 naturalization ceremonies held and 15 name changes processed.
All three numbers were down from the previous year.
Meanwhile, nearly 5,000 federal criminal cases were filed in Phoenix and Tucson, along with just over 5,000 civil cases.
The legislation, approved by the House of Representatives July 10 and the Senate on Wednesday, was sponsored by Rep. Tom
O’Halleran, D-Flagstaff, with the rest of the state’s House delegation as cosponsors.
Arizona Republican Sen. Martha McSally sponsored the identical Senate version of the bill, with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., as a co-sponsor.
McSally spokeswoman Amy Lawrence said Friday she doesn’t know if or when Trump might sign the bill, but the senator’s staff hopes it’s “soon.” After that happens, the new law could bring new economic development to both cities through a larger legal community.
But Julie Engel, president/CEO of the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation, said at its core the bill is about expanding access to federal courts statewide.
“With the passing of this bill, Yuma and Flagstaff will be able to serve our citizens without the burden of lost days due to travel. Victims in particular will no longer experience the added burden of leaving their homes in order to testify and jurors will not suffer multiple lost days from employment,” she said.