KINGMAN – A Kingman judge is going to step down from the bench and into retirement this spring. Cerbat Precinct Justice of the Peace John Taylor, a former deputy Mohave County attorney, intends to call it a career on March 31.
County supervisors are expected to accept Taylor’s resignation and establish guidelines for selecting a successor during their board meeting next Monday.
Staff is recommending that recruitment begin immediately and that a four-member panel be established to screen and interview applicants.
The recommendation is for Dist. 1 Supervisor Travis Lingenfelter, Dist. 4 Sup. Jean Bishop, Presiding Mohave County Superior Court Judge Charles Gurtler and Kingman Justice of the Peace Dave Huerta to each appoint one member to the panel. The goal is to have a new judge on board by no later than April 5 to preserve the function of the Cerbat Justice Court.
Board Chairman Buster Johnson wants supervisors to lay foundation for the upcoming redistricting campaign. He hopes supervisors will handle the job in-house rather than hiring a consultant.
Data from the 2020 census will be used to redraw the county’s five supervisoral districts so they contain roughly the same number of residents.
Supervisors will also hear from Department of Public Health Director Denise Burley regarding local COVID-19 management matters. The public portion of the Board meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors Auditorium of the county administration building at 700 W. Beale St. in downtown Kingman.
Dave Hawkins
What is the best judges on the bench really listens to people it’ll be hard to replace him in my opinion don’t go there too often but I’ll miss him for the time that I’ve seen him really like a judge that understands you don’t know a lot about the law but you do know what it means to tell the truth I hope you have a happy retirement