§ 1.1.3 Jurisdiction

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 1.1.3 Jurisdiction. The supreme court has original jurisdiction of special actions, including quo warranto, mandamus, injunction, and other extraordinary writs to state officers. See ARIZ. CONST. art. VI, § 5(1); cf. Rules of Procedure for Special Actions (RPSA) 1(a) (“Relief previously obtained against a body, officer, or person by writs of certiorari, mandamus, or prohibition in the trial or appellate courts shall be obtained in an action under this Rule, and any reference in any statute or rule to any of these writs, unless excepted in the next subsection, shall be deemed to refer to the special action authorized under this Rule.”). It also has original and exclusive jurisdiction over controversies between counties concerning disputed boundaries and surveys thereof, and of claims by one county against another. See ARIZ. CONST. art. VI, § 5(2).

The supreme court has appellate jurisdiction in all actions and proceedings, except civil and criminal actions originating in courts not of record, unless such actions involve the validity of a tax, impost, assessment, toll, statute or municipal ordinance. See Ariz. Const. art. VI, § 5(3). In addition, the supreme court may answer questions of law certified to it by the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court, a bankruptcy court, or a tribal court when the requirements set forth in A.R.S. § 12-1891 are met. See Kriz v. Buckeye Petroleum Co., 145 Ariz. 374, 375, 701 P.2d 1181, 1183 (1985). See generally Civil Appeals § 3.9.2.

The court of appeals, unlike the supreme court, the superior court, and the justice of the peace courts, is...