SAFFORD — On Monday, the Graham County Board of Supervisors approved two requests from local judges for more judges.
The board approved the contract for Merri Aden, who serves as the judge in the Gila Valley Consolidated Municipal Court, to serve as Justice of the Peace Pro Tempore for the calendar year.
“They have an agreement that Judge (Wyatt) Palmer will sit in for her when he needs to, and she sits in for him when she needs to,” said Mindy Young, Graham County Superior Court administrator.
The board also approved the re-appointment of Travis Ragland as full-time Judge Pro Tempore, and Jerry Landau and William Richardson as part-time Judges Pro Tempore.
Young, Landau and Richardson are all unpaid; however, Landau and Richardson receive reimbursement for travel expenses.
Pro Tempore judges serve when there is a conflict with the presiding judge, when the court calendar is more than a single judge can handle in a timely fashion, or when the presiding judge in temporarily unavailable.
