MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — The public has the opportunity to now watch many of Maricopa County's court proceedings online.
Throughout the pandemic, Maricopa County Superior Court began to livestream court hearings digitally and plans to continue offering the free service for certain proceedings.
Not all of the court's trials and hearings will be put online but many of the daily proceedings should be available to watch live on the court's website.
A daily schedule of Superior Court proceedings can be found online at www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/calendar/today/.
At the beginning of each day, the online calendar will update to show if a hearing will be in-person or livestreamed.
The court's initial appearance proceedings, which are done within the first 24 hours of a suspect's arrest, are also livestreamed throughout the day.
To view a proceeding online, enter the case information into the court's website and wait for the livestreaming option to be posted. The livestreaming icon will appear once the case begins.
Courts are constitutionally obligated to provide public access to judicial proceedings, which presented a major problem at the start of the pandemic. Judges had to figure out how to continue adjudicating cases without preventing a citizen's right to watch how the courts were operating.
“During the pandemic, livestreaming ensured the court was fulfilling its constitutional duty to provide public access to court proceedings, while bolstering the safety of court participants,” said Superior Court Judge Patricia Starr.
Since the Superior Court fully reopened its courthouses on July 19, it has managed to keep foot traffic down by allowing many court hearings to be viewed online.
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