In a community where the courthouse often feels like the first stop for life’s hardest moments, Jordan Reardon says the role of Justice of the Peace requires more than simply knowing the law. It requires patience, fairness, and a willingness to meet people where they are.
Reardon, who began serving on Jan. 1, 2019, is now seeking a third term on the bench in this year’s election.
Reardon said that many residents associate Justice Court with weddings and traffic tickets, but that the day-to-day responsibilities are much broader for the community members who walk through the doors.
“We do a lot more than marry people,” he said. “That’s the fun part, but it’s a very small part.”
He explained that he is responsible for initial appearances in most felony and misdemeanor cases in Gila County.
That closeness to the public is one reason he places such a strong emphasis on communication from the bench.
“You can sit up there and sound really impressive with legal jargon, but most people don’t understand it,” he said. “It’s much better to take complex legal theories and practices and make them understandable to everybody.”
For him, those explanations are not just about procedure, but about acknowledging the weight of what brings people into court in the first place.
“Every number represents a person,” he said. “Their lives and the decisions that I have to make in their cases will have real-life implications.”
Although he does not have a law degree, Reardon noted that one is not required to serve as a Justice of the Peace in Arizona. He believes his background in law enforcement helped prepare him for the work, having served at multiple agencies, including Gila County, Pinal County, and Tempe Police. In Tempe, he worked at the city jail and later rose through the ranks, including serving in a police analytics bureau.
Reardon said nearly 41,000 cases have been filed during his time on the bench, and he said the work involves much more than what people see during hearings.
“Most of this job is administrative,” he said. “You’re managing a staff, keeping the court running, and sometimes you feel like part judge and part accountant, but you’re also responsible for keeping the court moving and making sure people are treated fairly.”
Beyond courtroom operations, Reardon pointed to statewide barriers that affect justice at the local level, including the shortage of attorneys. He described Arizona as a legal “desert,” which poses challenges to stable, consistent representation for defense counsel.
“We have to contract with private attorneys because we don’t have a public defender’s office.”
He also said Globe-Miami is not immune to substance abuse issues, which he described as a consistent driver behind cases entering the court system. Mental health concerns, he added, can also play a role in repeat interactions with the justice system. He previously served on the mental health steering committee for Gila County and said that work highlighted how closely courts are connected to community resources. He received a Champion for Recovery award from Community Bridges and described moments when, during arraignments, he paused proceedings to help connect individuals directly to services.
“It’s not a common practice for the judge to provide resources,” he said. “But this is something I would pause to do during arraignments.”
One of the biggest shifts he has seen since taking office came during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. While it created significant strain, he said it also forced courts to reexamine how they operate and how people can realistically participate.
“COVID caused a significant increase in access to justice,” he said. “The judiciary was entrenched in the old ways of how you can appear and participate with court. Now, post-COVID, remote appearances are more common.”
To support that change, he said the court has continued updating technology to make remote participation easier for both staff and the public.
Efficiency has also been a major focus. He said he has worked to improve case processing times and prevent matters from lingering longer than they need to.
“That’s what justice looks like to me,” he said. “Timely resolutions further protect victims, and that’s important to me.”
At the same time, he said the job also requires constant awareness of boundaries, especially in a small community where personal and professional worlds can easily overlap.
Remaining impartial, he said, takes intentional effort and sometimes means stepping back from everyday community life.
“This is an isolating role if you do it correctly,” he said.
One reason is that a judge cannot preside over a case in which they become a witness, and he said he has to be cautious about which events he attends and how he interacts in public spaces. He recalled being at a school sporting event when a major disturbance broke out.
“I had to leave,” he said. “I can’t be a witness.”
Inside the courtroom, he said it is just as important to reassure people that they will be treated fairly, regardless of their history or assumptions about the justice system.
“I have to assure people that I’m impartial,” he said. “Even if you’ve been a regular in the courts, the presumption is innocence. I really have to say that out loud to let people know.”
Alongside his local duties, he said he serves on several Arizona Supreme Court-related committees, including a recent appointment to the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, which issues guidance on judicial conduct. He also serves on the Committee on Limited Jurisdiction Courts, focused on improving court operations across the state. He said he is especially proud of his leadership role in training new judges through the Limited Jurisdiction New Judge Orientation, where he serves as co-chair and faculty member.
“All newly elected and appointed judges at the justice and city courts must come through this program,” he said, describing it as a three-week training covering criminal, civil, and administrative subjects.
Taken together, he said those experiences reinforce his belief in the importance of the Justice Court and why he wants to continue serving. He describes the court as one of the closest points of contact most people will ever have with the legal system, and believes the person on the bench matters.
“You want the human element on the bench and for them to be a member of the community,” he said. “You really have to think, ‘Who would you want up there?’”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here