Bagdad-Yarnell Justice Court

The Bagdad-Yarnell Justice Court is a court of limited jurisdiction, meaning it handles civil cases involving less than $10,000, civil and criminal traffic violations, and misdemeanors. If you receive a ticket from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office or Arizona Department of Public Safety inside the Court’s precinct, your case will be handled here.

This Court has a very large precinct, encompassing about 2,500 square miles in southwestern Yavapai County. The precinct includes the towns of Bagdad, Congress, Kirkland, Peeples Valley, Walnut Grove, Wickenburg, Wilhoit, and Yarnell. The total population of the Court’s precinct is about 7,500 people.

Speed-Related Fatalities In Yarnell Justice Court’s Jurisdiction

The Bagdad-Yarnell Justice Court’s jurisdiction includes two busy highways: US-93 and SR-89. US-93 is a popular route for people traveling between Phoenix and Las Vegas. Historically, US-93 has been a very dangerous highway. In 2022, there were 24 deaths on the US-93 within the Court’s precinct. US-93 was named the most dangerous highway in the United States.

Based on our interviews of State Troopers, speed was almost always a factor in these fatal accidents. As a result, there has been a real crackdown on speeding in this area. It is easy to speed though, with the long, straight roads, and we see a lot of criminal speeding tickets in the Yarnell Justice Court.

Yarnell Justice Court’s Judge

Justice of the Peace Dennis Dowling was elected in 2018. In our experience, Judge Dowling takes his role very seriously. While it may feel to some defendants that Judge Dowling can be hard on speeding, this is probably due to the number of speed-related fatalities that have occurred in the community that elected Judge Dowling. Jail time for a criminal speeding conviction is a real possibility in this court, especially when the speeds get into the triple digits, or if the alleged speed is more than double the posted speed limit.

Judge Dowling wants defendants to be actively involved in their cases. This means that defendants will need to appear at each court appearance, even if they have an attorney.

Judge Dowling will allow virtual appearances for defendants who do not live near the court for initial court appearances such as an arraignment or pretrial conference. However, in order to conclude a case, either by a change of plea hearing or a trial, Judge Dowling will require the defendant to physically appear at the courthouse in-person.