River Cities Business Journal: Education

State high Court hears arguments at Kingman High; Local judge lauds educational opportunity afforded students

Special to the River Cities Business Journal

KINGMAN - Mohave County high school students will have a chance in April to see the Arizona Supreme Court in action.

“All five members of the Supreme Court will be at Kingman High School, North Campus, Thursday, April 19, to hear oral arguments on two cases,” Mohave County Superior Court Judge James Chavez, Division 4, said. “The arguments will begin at 9:30 a.m.”

Chavez has been coordinating the court's visit with Emily Poland, Arizona Supreme Court communications specialist.

“Judge Chavez is doing a wonderful job preparing for this educational opportunity,” Poland said. “It takes a lot of teamwork to coordinate these two days of events in Mohave County and we are thankful for the leadership of Judge Chavez and Presiding Judge Randolph Bartlett.”

“The audience is expected to mainly consist of students from throughout the county,” Chavez said. “The auditorium seats 524, but because of space needs for attorneys, clerks and support staff, they will only be able to accommodate 450 students. I understand they are limiting it to seniors who are in government or civics classes and reservations are being made.”

“Following the second argument,” Poland said, “there will be a question and answer segment for the attending students.”

The five-member Arizona Supreme Court includes: Chief Justice Ruth V. McGregor, Vice Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch, Justice Andrew D. Hurwitz, Justice Michael D. Ryan and Justice W. Scott Bales.

The Supreme Court has yet to designate which cases will be heard in Kingman.

“We will announce that and more information at a later date,” Poland said.

“Although these cases may not have originated in Mohave County, the Supreme Court only hears cases of statewide importance,” Chavez said. “It is potentially possible that a Mohave County attorney could be involved, but not probable. The participating attorneys will come from around the state.”

Chavez said he had never argued a case before the Arizona Supreme Court.

“When I was with the city (Kingman), I argued an appellate court case,” he said. “Since 1990 I have been a judge and I have had many cases affirmed by the Supreme Court.”

Chavez is a native of Kingman.

“Both of my parents graduated from Mohave County Union High School in 1949,” he said, “and I graduated in the first class where the school was named Kingman High School, in 1970.”

Chavez earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Arizona in Tucson and then went on to earn his Juris Doctor (JD) from Stanford Law School in 1978.

“From law school I worked in Colorado for six years as a deputy public defender,” he said. “And then in 1984 I became Kingman City Attorney.”

Chavez became a Superior Court judge in 1990.

Although he handles many criminal cases, Chavez said his favorite cases are the civil ones, “because of the variety. They offer more of a challenge. Lately we have been doing a lot of property cases. The increased growth in the county over the last few years has led to quite a few lawsuits.”

The Arizona Supreme Court last held arguments in Mohave County in April, 2000.

“This is really a great educational opportunity for the students of Mohave County,” Chavez said. “The court does travel around the state, but they only visit one or two counties per year. For Mohave County, this is a big event. I'm very pleased that they are coming here.”