The Coconino sun., 1924-08-08
MANIFOLD ARE THE DUTIES
OF SUPERIOR COURT CLERK
Address by Tom L. Flagstaff Superior Court Clerk
at Rotary Club.

The present superior court is the
successor to the district court of the
fourth judicial district of the territory
of Arizona and, as natural sequence
the superior court clerk succeeding the
clerk of the district court, became the
custodian of the records of the dis
trict court, and at the same time took
over the records of the probate court
and succeeded to the duties of the
probate judge as ex-officio clerk OF
the probate court, the probate Judge
ship having been abolished when we
became a state. So that at the pre-
sent time, all civil, criminal and pro-
bate matters are handled through the
superior court, the records being kept
and all records made by the clerk
The probate matters represent the
most voluminous part of the work of
the clerk. They embrace estate cases,
guardianships, adoptions and insanity.
In estate cases where an administra-
tor is petitioned for, notice is given
of the hearing by the clerk by posting
in three public places and the hearing
can be had after a period of ten days
from the date of posting. In will
cases, notice is given by publication,
the clerk setting the time of hearing,
which must not be less than ten nor
more than thirty days from produc-
tion of the will, but in this county
where we have weekly publication,
the notice must appear in at least
three different days of publication.
Both letters of administration and
letters testamentary with the accom-
panying bonds, when required, are re-
corded in full. Then follow notice
to creditors, appointment of apprais-
ers, inventory and appraisement, ETC.;
in all there are some twenty-five or
thirty forms and orders in estate cases
which must be recorded. In the settle
ment of estates in which the sale of
real estate is involved, much posting
of notices and recording is required.
In estates of $4,000 or under a four
months notice to creditors must be
given; in estates above $4,000 notice
of ten months is required, so that es-
tates can not be closed within the
time mentioned, depending upon the
size of the estate.
Guardianships are liable to linger
longer ON docket than any others, de-
pending upon the age of the minor
child or children when the case is in
stituted. In all estate cases annual
reports are required to be filed with
the clerk by the administrators, exc
cutors or guardians, as the case may
be, and notice given of the hearing by
the clerk, the same as when the case is
instituted.
When the records were taken over
at the time of statehood, all live es-
tate cases were remembered, begin
ming with one. They now number SIT,
which includes some 64 insanity cases.
In insanity cases, aside from docket
ing, the only record that is made is
the commitment or order of discharge,
as the case may be.
No change was made in numbering
of civil cases when we became a
state; they continued to be numbered
The first civil case af-
ter we became separate county was
a divorce instituted by Clara H.
Smith against John B. Smith, filed
April 30, 1891. Tom Norris and E. E.
representing the plaintiff
and Stewart and Dow the defendant.
Judge Edmund w. Wells was
on the bench at that time. Civil cases
now number 2028, and as a curious CO.