In Downtown Phoenix
The Downtown Justice Court will be renamed as the "El Centro" Justice Court.
Ok, but why?
For years the name of the court precinct - Downtown - coincided with the name of the entire building - the Downtown Justice Center (DTJC). The DTJC houses five courts: Arcadia-Biltmore, Encanto, South Mountain, West McDowell, and Downtown.
Everyone looking for the Downtown Justice Court knew how to find it. But customers looking for the other four courts would be confused, thinking that they were in a different location because those names weren't on the building. Additionally, many people walking in would go straight up to the Downtown Court counter, regardless of what court they were supposed to attend. Clerks at the Downtown Justice Court were spending an inordinate amount of time redirecting citizens to the proper counter.
But it wasn't that simple. The building not only houses five courts, but also an entire IT department for all Maricopa County courts, plus offices for the Clerk of Superior Court for Maricopa County. Changing the name of the building would be no easy task. We decided to change the name of the court precinct instead of the whole building.
In 2019 the staff answered a survey asking them to list their top choices for a new name. Then the pandemic hit and, well, there were more important things to focus on! In 2022 with the election of Judge Jennifer Sama, it was time to resume the process.
Judge Sama reviewed all of the previous information and after a great deal of consultation and consideration, settled on "El Centro" for the new name.
Now you know the story!
In Chandler
The San Tan Regional Court Center in Chandler will be renamed as the Ocotillo Regional Court Center.
Why?
It is similar to the Downtown situation. For many years we had the San Tan Justice Court located within the San Tan Regional building. That caused confusion for litigants. Some did not realize that there were three other courts in the building: Kyrene, San Marcos, and University Lakes. Other folks would think only San Tan clerks could answer their questions or provide the information or services they needed.
The four judges in the building, with Justice Court Administration, determined that it made more sense to change the name of the building rather than the court in this case. The court had been in existence longer than the building, and Justice Courts are the only occupants of the building.
Judges and staff circulated ideas for a new name and eventually settled on "Ocotillo" to replace the name "San Tan" on the outside of the center.
Thus- the Ocotillo Regional Court Center will be reborn on Jan. 1!