Santa Cruz County
Named for the Santa Cruz River in Arizona, Santa Cruz County was formed in 1899 from territories owned by Pima County. It is Arizona's smallest county by land, occupying about 1,237 square miles of land. As of 2022, the county is home to 47,838 residents. The City of Nogales serves as the county seat and most populous city.
Santa Cruz County has three trial courts, including the Superior, Justice, and Municipal Courts. The Superior Court has general jurisdiction over legal matters that are not exclusive to other trial courts in the county. These include felony prosecutions, land title disputes, civil claims for more than $10,000, probates, misdemeanors, and divorce cases. The Superior Court also handles juvenile cases such as child dependency issues and delinquency cases. Meanwhile, the Justice of the Peace Courts in Santa Cruz County hears landlord-tenant disputes, small claims cases, and civil lawsuits where the amount involved is not more than $10,000. Petty offenses such as simple assault, shoplifting, DUI, bad check violations, and indecent exposure are adjudicated by the Criminal Division of the Justice Courts. The Santa Cruz County Municipal Courts in Nogales and Patagonia typically hear ordinance violations, cases related to protective orders, and traffic offenses.
Santa Cruz County court records are documents, books, or other materials showing details of legal proceedings in the county. The Arizona Public Records Law allows public access to the following court records created in Santa Cruz County.
- Criminal court records
- Civil records
- Probate records
- Real estate records
- Traffic records
- Family law records
Each court record contains case filings, dispositions, transcripts, court orders, pleadings, and judgments. Sealed and confidential court records in Santa Cruz County are not publicly accessible. Requesters can obtain public court documents by contacting the Clerk of the Superior Court at:
Santa Cruz County Courthouse
2160 North Congress Drive, Suite 2200
Nogales, AZ 85621
Phone: (520) 375-7700
Email: JGuzman@courts.az.gov
Anyone can access Santa Cruz County court records online free of charge via the Arizona Public Access Case Lookup portal. Alternatively, record searchers can use the eAccess portal, which is available only to registered users.
