Perspective

By Judge Gerald A. Williams North Valley Justice Court

School, in some form, will return this month. So, this is perhaps a good time for a teachable moment on what high school students do that triggers them having either to appear or to interact with a justice court. The North Valley Justice Court’s jurisdiction includes Anthem and Desert Hills, and if I am talking with a parent and with one of their kids, it is usually for one of three reasons.

Civil and criminal traffic violations are the No. 1 reason I see high school students in my courtroom. I realize that arterial roads like Gavilan Peak Parkway, Anthem Way and Daisy Mountain Drive look like superhighways, but they are not.

Speed limits matter,and most of the tickets I get are not close. They are for students driving around 20 mph or more over the posted speed limits, either within Anthem or on I-17. Why do I make a big deal about teenagers who drive too fast?

According to the Center for Disease Control, in 2017, 2,364 teens in the United States aged 16 to 19 were killed, and about 300,000 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes. While our nation is divided on many issues, hopefully we can all agree that those type of statistics are unacceptable.

Some other commonly cited violations include failure to control speed to avoid a collision, unsafe lane change and parking. Yes, there are more than a few parking tickets issued, perhaps especially around Boulder Creek High School.

A parking ticket can become a big deal if it is ignored. It is not a moving violation, so it won’t trigger any points against someone’s driver’s license. Even so, if it is ignored, the vehicle owner’s driver license can get suspended. Often students are driving cars that are registered in a parent’s name, so a student

who ignores a parking ticket can expect to be on the receiving end of a conversation from an angry parent who has just discovered that their driver’s license has been suspended.

Several years ago, when I was on active duty as a military lawyer or “JAG,” I was assigned for a few years as a criminal defense attorney. I remember arguing with a squadron commander and maintaining that a reduction in rank was too severe a punishment for my 19-year-old client who had been caught drinking a beer. The lieutenant colonel told me, “Captain, you don’t understand. I’m trying to save his life.” Although if given a chance, I might make the same argument today, I do clearly understand the squadron commander’s point.

Underage drinking is a big deal because alcohol and immaturity can provide a toxic mix. It is undisputed that consumption of alcohol can impair both reflexes and judgment. If underage drinking is happened, there is a chance additional misconduct is also occurring.

In Arizona, underage drinking is a class one misdemeanor, which means it is on the same level with other crimes that are the most serious kind of misdemeanor. By way of comparison, reckless driving is a class two, or lower, misdemeanor. If you are under 21, you can’t drink. It really is that simple. Please don’t tell me, “But judge, I was under the legal limit.” If you are under 21, there is no amount of alcohol that you can lawfully consume, although you are unlikely to be arrested if your faith uses wine as part of a religious observance.

After a new sheriff disbanded the North Valley Posse, citations for minors violating the Maricopa County curfew ordinance have decreased drastically. Essentially, if you are in an area without a municipal government, and you are under 16, you are directed to be inside from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. If you are between 16 and 18, the curfew times are midnight to 5 a.m.

There are several exceptions to this ordinance. They include being with an adult and being involved in an emergency. There is also an exception if the student is coming directly home from work.

Judge Gerald A. Williams is the Justice of the Peace for the North Valley Justice Court. The court’s jurisdiction includes Anthem and Desert Hills.

Juvenile misconduct can be cited into either juvenile or into a justice court. Juvenile courts have a unique set of terms, some of which sound as if they came from a Charles Dickens novel. Most do not use words like either delinquent or incorrigible as part of their daily vocabulary.

If a minor is cited into a justice court, the justice court must contact the juvenile court and request permission to hear the case. But whether that request is granted or not, the outcome for the minor and for his or her family will be substantially similar. Justice courts even use juvenile court forms.