At the Feb. 21 City Council Meeting, the board unanimously approved the appointment of three new pro tempore judges to the Maricopa Municipal Court.

Tresa S. Georgini, Susan J. Kayler and Sherri Rollison will begin their temporary role on April 1, assisting the city’s current judge, Stephen McCarville.

Georgini graduated from Arizona State University and Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. She is the current owner of Georgini Law Offices in Casa Grande.

Kayler is the owner of Kayler Law Firm in Scottsadle, with extensive experience as a prosecutor, defense attorney and judge.

And Rollison is the current presiding judge at the Wickenburg Municipal Court and served in various municipal courts throughout Maricopa County.

City Manager Rick Horst said the court is trying to build bench strength, in case McCarville needs time off due to illness or vacation.

“These pro-tempores are on call to make sure we don’t have to cancel cases or court appearances so we can better serve our community,” Horst said.

As judge pro tempore, the newly appointed judges will be paid $46.70 per hour, according to the official agreement statement.

Pro tempore judges serve as backup to the presiding judge to ensure prompt coverage for routine and unexpected occurrences in court proceedings.

In the case that McCarville is absent – due to reasons like vacation or illness – the pro tempore judges will be called upon.

Now that the candidates have been approved, the court will move forward with an orientation and briefing for their new roles.

After serving their initial term until June 30, the three agreements will automatically renew for successive one-year periods from July 1.

McCarville is currently serving a temporary position through the end of 2023 and the city anticipates recruiting a full-time judge soon, according to Horst.

Until then, Horst does not see the need to expand City Court.

“I hope we get a little farther down the road before we have to add more judges to our staff,” Horst said.