Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County Document Filing Requirements

WARNINGCivil cases

Cameras are prohibited in the courtroom unless authorized by court order.

No cameras are allowed in the courtroom, absent court order.

WARNINGCivil cases

Beverages are permitted in the courtroom, but food and chewing gum are prohibited.

Water, coffee and other beverages are allowed, however, no food or chewing gum is permitted in the courtroom.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Motion in limine

Motions in limine asking the Court to enforce a particular rule of evidence should not be filed.

Motions in Limine asking the Court to enforce a particular rule of evidence should not be filed.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Summary judgment motion

Each party may file only one motion for summary judgment unless the Court grants leave for good cause shown.

The Court permits only one Motion for Summary Judgment per party absent leave of Court for good cause shown.

WARNINGCivil cases

Hearings begin on schedule, and parties are generally held to their allotted time except in extraordinary circumstances.

Be on time for your hearing. The Court will start the clock at the scheduled time, whether the parties are present or not. Budget your time and finish on time. Except in extraordinary circumstances, you will be held to your allotted time, even if you are in the middle of cross-examination. You will know beforehand how much time has been allotted to you. The Court will occasionally notify you of your remaining time, but you may ask at any time for a time check.

WARNINGCivil cases

Speaking objections are prohibited.

No speaking objections are allowed.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Pleading

Irresponsible AI use or knowingly submitting pleadings with nonexistent facts or case law may subject a party to sanctions.

A party who is irresponsible with the use of these tools, or (worse) knowingly submits pleadings with non-existent facts/caselaw, shall be subject to sanctions.

WARNINGCivil cases

Redirect examination is limited to issues raised during the witness’s cross-examination.

Pursuant to Rule 611(a) of the Rules of Evidence, the Court limits redirect examination of a witness to issues that were raised during cross-examination of that witness.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Exhibit

Counsel must separately offer each exhibit relevant to the case.

Counsel will need to separately offer any exhibits that are relevant to the case.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Supplemental brief

Supplemental briefing should not be filed without leave of Court.

No party should file supplemental briefing without leave of Court.

WARNINGCivil cases

Rules 8(c), (d), (e), and (f) apply to trials and evidentiary hearings.

Trials and Evidentiary Hearings: Rule 8(c), (d), (e), and (f) will apply.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Court filing

Filers using AI are expected to follow the listed accuracy and verification practices.

The Court expects filers using AI to:

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Motion for leave to exceed page limit

Must include

legal argument

A motion for leave to exceed a pleading’s page limit must state specific reasons; a generic request may be denied.

If you file a motion for leave to exceed the page length of a pleading, you will need to provide specific reasons. A generic statement that you need more pages may result in denial of your motion.

WARNINGCivil cases

The Court may charge the objecting party’s trial time for an unduly long speaking objection.

If the Court deems the speaking objection to be unduly long, it may assess time against the objecting party.

WARNINGCivil cases

The Court expects parties to complete trial within their allotted time.

The Court expects the parties to complete trial within the time allotted.

WARNINGCivil cases

The Court may overrule a disclosure objection if the objecting party provides no documentary evidence.

The Court may overrule an objection for untimely disclosure or non-disclosure if no documentary evidence is provided.

WARNINGCivil cases

A party relying on deposition disclosure must be prepared to identify the relevant deposition portion.

If a party asserts that the disclosure came in a deposition, then that party must be prepared to point to the relevant portion of the deposition.

WARNINGCivil cases

A party defending a disclosure challenge must be prepared to immediately show where and when the subject matter was disclosed.

A party defending against a disclosure challenge must be prepared to immediately show the Court where and when that party disclosed the relevant subject matter.

WARNINGCivil cases

Recording or photographing hearings without prior approval may lead to security involvement or contempt proceedings.

Anyone who records or photographs court hearings without prior approval may be subject to involvement with security and/or contempt proceedings.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Exhibit

Parties must identify the relevant portions of lengthy exhibits; the Court will not search the entire exhibit for them.

The Court will not review the entire exhibit to try to locate a relevant portion. You will have to tell the Court where you want it to look.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Motion in limine

Each party may file no more than five motions in limine unless the Court grants leave for good cause shown.

Absent leave of Court for good cause shown, each party may file no more than five Motions in Limine.

WARNING

Applies to

Ai assisted filing

Filings containing hallucinations, fabricated citations, or irrelevant AI-generated material may lead to sanctions, including striking the filing, monetary sanctions, or other relief.

Filings that contain hallucinations, fabricated citations, or irrelevant AI generated material may result in sanctions, including striking the filing, monetary sanctions, or other relief the Court deems appropriate.

WARNING

Applies to

Ai assisted filing

Parties and counsel may use AI tools to draft pleadings or conduct legal research, but AI-assisted filings must meet the Court’s standards for accuracy, relevance, and professionalism.

Parties and counsel may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in drafting pleadings or conducting legal research. However, any filing that relies on AI generated content must meet the same standards of accuracy, relevance, and professionalism required of all submissions to the Court.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Motion to compel

A motion to compel seeking attorney’s fees under ARFLP 65 should state the total related expenses; supporting redacted billing statements or other material are suggested.

For motions to compel seeking attorney’s fees under ARFLP 65, please state the total expenses incurred relating to the motion and consider attaching redacted billing statements or other material to support the claim.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Draft order

A draft order accompanying a request to extend a dismissal date should specify the requested new dismissal date.

For requests to extend a dismissal date, please specify the new dismissal date you’re requesting in the draft order.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Motion to compel

A motion to compel must comply with Maricopa County Local Rule 3.2(h), including detailed information about the alleged deficiency.

Please also ensure that a motion to compel complies with Maricopa County Local Rule 3.2(h) (requiring detailed information about alleged deficiency).

WARNINGCivil cases

Virtual participants in evidentiary hearings must use videoconference with cameras on unless the Court specifically authorizes phone-only participation.

For evidentiary hearings, all parties or witnesses attending virtually must appear by videoconference with cameras turned on, absent specific authorization from the Court to connect by phone without video.

WARNING

Applies to

Proposed order

Proposed orders should identify the exact title of the motion being ruled upon.

Please be specific in your proposed orders by specifically stating the exact title of the motion being ruled upon.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Exhibits

Both sides are expected to confer about stipulating to exhibits before trial.

Both sides are expected to confer about stipulating to exhibits prior to the trial.

WARNING

Applies to

Jury questionnaire

Notify the Court at the trial setting conference if you want to use jury questionnaires; their use is limited, and provide a proposed questionnaire two weeks before the Final Trial Management Conference.

• Please notify the Court at the trial setting conference if you want of utilize jury questionnaires. Additional court hearings will be necessary to accomplish the tasks involved in jury questionnaires. Because questionnaires tend to take longer than in court voir dire, this tool will be permitted on a limited basis. A copy of your proposed questionnaire should be provided to the Court two weeks before the final trial management conference.

WARNING

Outside or personal recording of a hearing requires prior Court approval.

Outside or personal recording of a hearing by any means (e.g., cell phone, tape recorder, laptop, etc.) is prohibited without prior approval from the Court.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Motion

Request expedited relief only when there is a genuine need for an expedited ruling.

Please do not request expedited relief unless there is a genuine need for an expedited ruling.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Proposed order

Do not attach mailing certificates to proposed orders; the Court does not distribute orders in the same manner as motions are served.

Do not attach mailing certificates to proposed orders as we do not distribute orders in the same manner that you serve motions.

INFO

Applies to

Adoption hearing documents

For adoption hearings, the court prefers all documents to be sent by FedEx one week in advance.

Preferably, send all documents to the Court one week ahead via FedEx.

INFOCivil cases

Applies to

Motion

Must include

proposed order

Counsel are strongly encouraged to lodge a proposed order in Word format when filing a motion through the eFile system.

Judge Fox rules on motions through the eFile system when possible. As such, counsel are strongly encouraged to lodge a proposed form of Order in Word format when filing a motion through the eFile system.

INFO

Applies to

Response

Must include

proposed order

A responding party may submit a proposed judgment or order if it differs from the other party’s proposal.

A party responding to a motion is welcome to submit a proposed form of judgment or order if such proposed form of judgment or order differs from that submitted by the other party.

INFOCivil cases

Applies to

Petition

Litigants are encouraged to file petitions verified by a witness with personal knowledge of the facts.

Litigants are encouraged to file petitions verified by a witness with personal knowledge of the facts, which generally enables the court to conduct hearings more efficiently for all parties.

INFO

Applies to

Motion

Must include

proposed order

Lodging an electronic form of order is strongly encouraged for most motions.

• Forms of Order. Judge Blanchard handles most motions through eFile, so lodging an electronic form of order is strongly encouraged.

INFO

Applies to

Bench memorandum

A bench memorandum outlining evidentiary issues is permitted but does not replace a motion in limine.

Judge Beresky permits a bench memorandum outlining any evidentiary issues; however, a bench memorandum is not a replacement for a motion in limine.

INFOCivil cases

The calendar generally runs from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., unless otherwise specified.

The calendar begins at 9:00 a.m. unless specified and ends at 4:30 p.m.

INFOCivil cases

Trial includes a 10-minute mid-morning break and a 10-minute mid-afternoon break.

There will be a 10-minute mid-morning break and a 10-minute mid-afternoon break during trial.

INFOCivil cases

The Court will ask if it wants a response or further discussion.

If the Court wants a response or further discussion, the Court will ask.

INFOCivil cases

When calling a virtual witness, counsel should communicate with the witness so the witness knows when to join.

When calling a virtual witness during a trial or hearing, please ensure you or co-counsel are in communication with the witness, so they are aware of when to connect to the virtual proceeding.

INFOCivil cases

Court-employed reporters are assigned first to Rule 30 criminal matters, so they may not be available for civil matters.

Please note that court employed court reporters are assigned first to Rule 30 mandated criminal matters. Therefore, obtaining a court employed court reporter for a civil matter is not always possible.

INFOCivil cases

Counsel may move around the courtroom but should request permission before approaching a witness.

Counsel may move around the courtroom, however, should request permission to approach the witness.

INFOCivil cases

Court proceedings are recorded using an audio/video system and Microsoft Teams.

A record of all court proceedings is made using an audio/video recording system and through Microsoft Teams.

INFOCivil cases

Applies to

Notice of intent private court reporter

Parties are encouraged to use a private court reporter and may file a Notice of Intent to do so.

The parties are therefore, encouraged to utilize a private court reporter and may file a Notice of Intent to use a private court reporter.

INFOCivil cases

The Court typically relies on the parties’ proposed courtroom time when scheduling trial.

Typically, when scheduling trial, the Court will defer to the parties concerning the amount of courtroom time the parties require to adequately present their respective cases.

INFOCivil cases

Each side is generally allotted half of the trial presentation time.

Generally, each side will be allotted half of the time to present their case.

INFOCivil cases

The Court breaks for lunch daily from noon to 1:30 p.m.

The Court breaks for lunch daily from noon to 1:30 p.m.