Sullied JP court awaits Riggs in middle of cleanup

Lyle Riggs has been going through some typical training for newly-elected judges. But he is taking over a situation at the Maricopa/Stanfield Justice Court that is hardly typical.

A predecessor discredited, no chief clerk and a staff that has been in cleanup mode since January comprise the shadow hanging over the office.

Restoring confidence in the court is priority No. 1 for Riggs, an attorney and part-time judge.

Voted into office at the Nov. 4 General Election, he has “a pretty good idea” what he’ll be facing when he is sworn in, but “I don’t have a complete picture.”

Previous Justice of the Peace Scott Sulley was suspended by Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch in February after an audit showed thousands of dollars missing from the court.

After being reassigned during the investigation, he resigned as magistrate in June, was removed from the JP office and then was issued a lifetime ban by the Supreme Court in September.

Of the original $155,000 shortfall reported, around $112,000 was found in areas of the court improperly organized and not secured. While the Supreme Court came down on Sulley, the report did not spare the court staff, either.

Riggs believes the ongoing cleanup “could easily take a year or longer.”

While he intends to be proactive in reviewing files to find mistakes, Riggs expects some errors to come to light as people come to court with varying situations.

The first steps he wants to take are getting the court properly staffed and getting the staff properly trained in court administration. That includes getting a new chief clerk in place.

Riggs also sees accessibility to be an important part of his new job.