How to Request an ADA Accommodation
Please let us know early so we can prepare. If possible, please make your accommodation requests at least a week before you come to court. Advance requests can be made by e-mail, letter or telephone as follows:
E-mail: [email protected]
Letter: ADA Coordinator
Arizona Superior Court in Pima County
110 W. Congress Street
Tucson, AZ 85701
Telephone: (520) 724-2931
Tell us what you need for your accommodation. Make your request as specific as possible. Please give us:
• Your name
• The accommodation(s) you want
• Name of the case (and number if known)
• Name of the judge (if known)
• Date(s) you will be in court
• Your contact information including mailing address, e-mail address and phone number.
If you make your request by e-mail, please put “ADA Accommodation Request” in the subject line.
If you make your request by letter, please write “ADA Accommodation Request” at the top.
You can also make your request in person. Please inform court security personnel that you need to make an accommodation request, and they will direct you to the appropriate person. Please be aware that if you wait until you get to court to request an accommodation, we may not be able to provide it the same day.
Important! – The ADA Coordinator and/or Court Executives cannot grant, as an ADA Accommodation, a request that involves a judicial balancing of the rights of the parties or the Judge’s inherent power to manage the courtroom and the proceeding.
Examples of such requests may include, but are not limited to, requests for:
• change of the time of day a case will be heard;
• modifications in the way testimony will be given;
• extensions of time or adjournment; frequency of breaks in hearings;
• permission to participate by phone or video;
• the presence or absence of other persons in the courtroom.
These types of accommodation requests must be decided by the judge or judicial officer presiding over the case. If all or some of the part of the request that you make involves an accommodation that only a judge has the authority to grant or deny, the request (or that part of it) will be referred to the judge presiding over your case. If you are sure that your accommodation request is the kind that needs to be decided by the judge, you can make your request directly to the judge in your case. Contact the judge’s chambers before you come to court or ask the judge when you get to court.
We may need more information. Many accommodations can be made based on the information you give in your request. Sometimes, however, the court may need to know more about your disability to help us understand what a reasonable accommodation might be. If so, you may be asked to provide additional information. To the extent possible, your accommodation request and any information you provide will remain confidential.
Please be aware – if your request is for the kind of accommodation that can only be granted by a judge (see Important Note above), the judge may require that your request be brought to the attention of the other parties to the proceeding.
How will the court respond to the request?
If the court grants the accommodation, you will be notified by court personnel, or by the judge or judicial office hearing your case.
If your request is denied by the ADA Coordinator and/or Court Executives, and an alternative cannot be agreed upon, you will get a written denial of Accommodation that explains why the request is denied. That Denial can be appealed upon request.
If the judge or judicial officer denies your accommodation request, and an alternative cannot be agreed upon, you can ask them for a written judicial order to state the reason for the denial on the record. That denial can be judicially reviewed, but it cannot be reviewed by the ADA Coordinator or court administrators.
