MOHAVE COUNTY — Presiding Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steve Moss has issued an Administrative Order (AO) revising case assignments given recent judicial appointments. Thursday’s AO assigns Division 1 Superior Court Judge Megan McCoy the criminal caseload currently administered by Court Commissioner Doug Camacho.
That transfers McCoy from her civil workload and returns her to the area of the criminal justice system that she mastered as a former prosecutor prior to her ascension to the bench in 2019. She’ll join three colleagues who handle criminal matters at the Law and Justice Center in Kingman; Judge Derek Carlisle in Division 2, Judge Lee Jantzen in Division 4 and Court Commissioner Billy Sipe.
Governor Katie Hobbs on August 22 appointed Camacho to serve as the first judge of the newly established Superior Court Division 8. Moss has assigned Camacho what is primarily a civil caseload that he’ll handle from the county building on College Drive in Lake Havasu City, that houses Superior Court and other government offices.
Judge Moss on September 11 selected veteran lawyer applicants for appointment to two new Court Commissioner positions. Ryan Esplin has been working the civil side of the Mohave County Attorney’s Office while Michele Holden has staffed the Arizona Attorney General’s Office in Kingman.
“The extensive experience and skills of both of these individuals helped make the decision a fairly easy one,” Moss said. “They are both well prepared for this work and come highly recommended by their peers and members of the community.”
The Moss AO assigns Esplin and Holden to Lake Havasu City, both handling mostly domestic relations caseloads.
The placements and case assignments are to be implemented on October 14.
Judge Moss still has another Court Commissioner selection/appointment decision in play, but that Judge won’t begin working until next April. Meantime Division 4 Judge Lee Jantzen (next April) and Division 7 Judge Rick Lambert (end of next year) are retiring and their seats will be filled in the 2026 election cycle.
