Arizona Superior Court in Pima County
Wednesday, January 5, 2022 by Arizona Superior Court in Pima County
Pima County Presiding Judge Jeffrey T. Bergin appointed M. June Harris to fill a new hearing officer position at the Superior Court. As the selected head of the newly designated Division XR, Ms. Harris will take the bench in early January.
Ms. Harris moved to Tucson at the age of seven. She served as Special Counsel for the Tohono O’odham Judicial Branch for the 15 years immediately prior to her appointment, acting as sole general counsel, administrative attorney, and ethics advisor to six judicial administrative divisions and more than 100 employees. Since 2020 Ms. Harris has also presided, as a judge pro tempore, over Superior Court probate mental health hearings.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Harris was an attorney with the Tohono O’odham Advocate Program managing their juvenile section and, in 2005, wrote and published their juvenile procedures manual. She was also, for four years, a senior editor in the business and technical documents arena with Scribendi, a professional online editing and proofreading service.
A lawyer for 24 years, Ms. Harris is a 1997 graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law, where she was Note and Comment Editor of the Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law. She earned her undergraduate degree in English from Smith College, is the first in her family to graduate from college and the only one with a professional degree.
A periodic faculty member for the State Bar of Arizona as well as the James E. Rogers College of Law, in 2021 Ms. Harris managed students on behalf of the Roger Williams University School of Law in Rhode Island, during their very first remotely held “Alternative Winter Break.” RWU’s Law Alternative program places students in pro bono legal service projects, focusing on areas of the law where clients often lack adequate representation.
Additionally, Ms. Harris is involved in various community law-focused activities, such as acting as a judge for both moot court and mock trial events. She is also a Member-at-Large of the Indian Law Section Executive Council for the State Bar of Arizona. Additionally, Ms. Harris is the author of several legal articles, the most recent A View from Tribal Court: Tips for Best Practices for Arizona Attorney magazine, published in their July/August 2021 edition.
About Ms. Harris, Judge Bergin noted, “The Superior Court is fortunate and excited to have Ms. Harris join the bench as our newest hearing officer. She has admirably served the Tohono O’odham judicial branch and brings her insight, intellect, and wealth of experience to the Superior Court. We know she will be a strong positive addition to the Court.”