Applications Being Accepted for a Vacancy on the Maricopa County Superior Court

Applications are being accepted for a vacancy on the Superior Court in Maricopa County created by the retirement of Judge Brian Ishikawa.

The Maricopa County Commission on Trial Court Appointments will review applications, interview selected applicants and recommend at least three nominees for the vacancy to Governor Doug Ducey, who will appoint the new judge.

Applicants must be at least 30 years old, admitted to practice law in Arizona, a resident of Arizona for the past five years, and a resident of Maricopa County for the past year.

Applications can be obtained from the Administrative Office of the Courts, Human Resources Department, 1501 W. Washington, Suite 221, Phoenix, AZ. 85007; by calling (602) 452-3311; by sending an electronic mail request to: jnc@courts.az.gov; or at the Judicial Department website: http://www.azcourts.gov/jnc.

The original completed application, 5 double-sided copies, and a single-sided copy must be returned to the Administrative Office of the Courts, Human Resources Department, 1501 W. Washington, Suite 221, Phoenix, AZ, 85007, by 3:00 p.m. on Monday, March 16, 2015.

Applicants for the recent vacancies in Maricopa County DO NOT need to reapply to be considered for the new vacancy.

The Commission may, at its discretion, use the applications filed for this vacancy to nominate candidates for any additional vacancies known to the Commission before the screening meeting for this vacancy is held.

All meetings of the Maricopa County Commission on Trial Court Appointments are open to the public. Meeting dates will be announced. The new judge will be paid $145,000 annually.

ANNOUNCING:

Applications are being accepted for a vacancy on the Superior Court in Maricopa County created by the retirement of Judge Carey Snyder Hyatt.

An original completed application, 5 double-sided copies, and one (1) single-sided copy must be received by the Human Resources Department, Administrative Office of the Courts, 1501 West Washington, Suite 221, Phoenix, AZ, 85007, no later than 3:00 p.m. on Monday, March 16, 2015.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicants must be at least 30 years of age, of good moral character, admitted to the practice of law in and a resident of Arizona for the past five years, a resident of Maricopa County for the past year, and under age 65 at the time the nomination is submitted to the Governor.

APPLICATION FORMS CAN BE OBTAINED FROM:
Human Resources Department – OR – by calling (602) 452-3311
Administrative Office of the Courts
1501 W. Washington, Suite 221, – OR – by sending an E-mail request to:
Phoenix jnc@courts.az.gov
– OR – at the Judicial Department website: www.azcourts.gov/jnc

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS VACANCY:

Applicants for the recent vacancies in Maricopa County DO NOT need to reapply to be considered for the new vacancy.

All written comments about applicants should be directed to the Maricopa County Commission on Trial Court Appointments, c/o Blanca Moreno, Administrative Office of the Courts, 1501 W. Washington, Suite 221, Phoenix, AZ, 85007. All comments received at that address will be distributed to all commission members. Applicants are asked to limit solicited reference letters to a maximum of 12, from a diverse group of people who are well-acquainted with the applicant. All letters timely submitted will be forwarded to all commissioners.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
To comment on issues relevant to the vacant judgeship or on a particular applicant, submit a written statement to the Maricopa County Commission on Trial Court Appointments, Attn: Blanca Moreno, 1501 W. Washington, Suite 221, Phoenix, AZ, 85007. An opportunity for public comment will also be scheduled at both Commission meetings about this vacancy.

SELECTION PROCESS:
The Arizona Constitution requires the Maricopa County Commission on Trial Court Appointments to submit at least three nominees to the Governor within 60 days of the effective date of each vacancy. The Governor has 60 days in which to make a selection from the nominees submitted by the Commission. To obtain the procedures of the Commissions on Appellate and Trial Court Appointments or a list of Commission members call (602) 452-3311 or visit the website: www.azcourts.gov/jnc.

At its first meeting, the Commission reviews the applications and determines which applicants will be interviewed. That meeting and the subsequent interviews are open to the public, and voting on the nominations is conducted in a public session. News releases announcing the meetings will be issued at least one week prior to each meeting.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:
The annual salary of a Superior Court judge is $145,000. Superior Court judges are eligible to enroll in State and/or County benefit plans.

JUDICIAL RETENTION:
Each judge is subject to an unopposed, nonpartisan retention election at the first general election held at least two years after he or she takes office. To be retained, a judge must receive a majority of affirmative votes cast. Following the first retention election, Superior Court judges stand for retention election every four years.

JUDICIAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW:
The Arizona Constitution requires that justices and judges undergo a performance review before each retention election, the results of which are disseminated to voters before the election. The Supreme Court adopts the rules that govern judicial performance review, a copy of which can be obtained by calling (602) 452-3311. The standards adopted by the Supreme Court and the Commission on Judicial Performance Review for evaluating justices and judges are:

“The judge shall administer justice fairly, ethically, uniformly, promptly and efficiently. The judge shall be free from personal bias in decision making, shall decide cases based on proper application of law and procedure to the facts, and shall issue prompt, clear rulings and decisions that demonstrate competent legal analysis. The judge shall act with dignity, courtesy and patience. The judge shall effectively manage the courtroom and discharge the administrative responsibilities of the office.”

POSITION: Capital Case Staff Attorney
POSITION TYPE: Regular, Full-time
SALARY RANGE: $58,562 – $131,144 (JSP 11/1 – JSP 14/10)
(depending on qualifications)
TYPICAL STARTING SALARY $58,562 – $71,791 (JSP 11/1 – JSP 12/1)
CLOSING DATE: March 11, 2015
LOCATION: Phoenix or Tucson, Arizona

INTRODUCTION
This position is dedicated to assisting the district judges with the capital habeas corpus cases in the District of Arizona.

OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION
The capital case staff attorney performs legal research and prepares recommendations to the court in regard to stays of execution; jurisdiction; scheduling; exhaustion of remedies; discovery; motions for evidentiary hearing; disposition on the merits; and certificates of probable cause. The capital case staff attorney also performs substantive writing and is responsible for preparing bench memos and orders on matters pending before the judges related to the district’s death penalty caseload.

Other duties of the capital case staff attorney include reviewing pleadings and motions; attending court proceedings; drafting orders; acting as a liaison between the court and litigants; advising appropriate personnel regarding the status of death-eligible cases; and participating in conferences with counsel and experts regarding appointment and compensation.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
– To qualify for the position of capital case staff attorney at salary level JSP 11, a person must be a law school graduate and have one or more of the following attributes:
Standing within the upper third of the law school class from a law school on the approved list of either the American Bar Association or the Association of American Law Schools.
– Experience on the editorial board of a law review of such school.
– Graduation from such a school with an LLM degree; or
– Demonstrated proficiency in legal studies which, in the opinion of the judge, is the equivalent of one of the above. Some examples of criteria which are considered to be acceptable as equivalent include:
o Publication of a noteworthy article in a law school student publication or other scholarly publication;
o Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, such as election to the Order of the Coif;
o Winning of a moot court competition or membership on a moot court team that represents the law school in competition with other law schools;
o Participation in the legal aid or other law school clinical program sanctioned by the law school;* or
o Summer experience as a law clerk to a state or local judge or law clerk experience on a continuing basis in a private firm while attending school (i.e., working one’s way through college).*

*In order to receive credit, participation and experience could not have been for academic credit.

This list is not all-inclusive; the determination of an acceptable equivalence rests with the appointing judge.

To qualify for the position of capital case staff attorney at salary level JSP 12 a person must be a law school graduate, have one year of legal work experience performed after graduation from law school, be a member of the bar of a state, territorial, or federal court of general jurisdiction and have one or more of the attributes listed in the first paragraph under Minimum Qualifications.

To qualify for the position of capital case staff attorney at salary level JSP 13 a person must be a law school graduate, have two years of legal work experience performed after graduation from law school, and be a member of the bar of a state, territorial, or federal court of general jurisdiction and have one or more of the attributes listed in the first paragraph under Minimum Qualifications.

To qualify for the position of capital case staff attorney at salary level JSP 14 a person must be a law school graduate, have three years of legal work experience performed after graduation from law school, and be a member of the bar of a state, territorial, or federal court of general jurisdiction and have one or more of the attributes listed in the first paragraph under Minimum Qualifications.

SELECTION FACTORS
The following factors will be used to select the best qualified candidates for interview. You may respond to these factors on a separate sheet of paper and attach to your application. Identify your response by using the factor number.

1. Experience in planning and organizing work, establishing priorities, and working independently. Cite specific examples of work experience which exhibited this ability, including the level of responsibility and degree of autonomy.

2. Experience in reviewing documents and extracting data. Cite examples of this experience indicating the type of documents reviewed and the level of responsibility.

3. If you have specialized experience in the field of death penalty law or habeas law, please describe the specific duties you performed.

SELECTION PROCESS
Applicants may be invited for a personal interview. Participation in the interview process will be at the applicant’s own expense and relocation expenses will not be provided.

The initial appointment to this position is provisional pending the successful completion of the required background checks or investigations. The United States District Court is a drug-free workplace and the applicant selected will also be required to participate in a drug screening test prior to employment. By statute, employees must be a citizen of the U.S. or authorized to work in this country on a temporary worker’s visa or an immigrant visa.

The court reserves the right to amend or withdraw any announcement without written notice to applicants. If a subsequent vacancy of the same position becomes available within a reasonable time of the original announcement, the district court executive may elect to select a candidate from the original qualified applicant pool.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Judiciary employees serve under excepted appointments, are considered at will employees, and are entitled to standard federal benefits such as paid vacation time, paid sick time, medical insurance and life insurance. Salary will be set commensurate with qualifications as defined by the Judiciary Salary Plan (JSP). Judicial employees are also eligible for long-term care, disability insurance and a Flexible Benefits Program which includes medical care reimbursement, dependent care reimbursement, and commuter benefits reimbursement. Due to budgetary restrictions, this position will not be eligible for retirement benefits until October 2015 except for transfer eligible applicants. This position is subject to mandatory electronic fund transfer (direct deposit) participation for payment of net pay.

HOW TO APPLY
Go to our web site at http://agency.governmentjobs.com/azduscourts/default.cfm to submit an on-line application, answer the supplemental questions and attach the following required documents:

• Attorney/Law Clerk Supplement*
• Cover letter
• Resume
• Selection Factors responses
• Unofficial or official law school transcripts
• A writing sample of no more than five pages in length; and
• No more than three letters of recommendation
  

  *You can obtain the Attorney/Law Clerk supplement on our web page at:
  http://www.azd.uscourts.gov under Employment / Employment Application Forms.

  Attachments should be submitted as WordPerfect, Word or Adobe Acrobat .pdf documents. Other formats are not acceptable.

  Applications will be considered complete when the on-line application and all required attachments in the proper format are received in the Human Resources Division. Applications received after the closing date may not be considered.

  If you have questions about this application process, please call the Human Resources Division at (602) 322-7110.