Among the many consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, one concern for Arizona’s court system, law enforcement and defendants who receive criminal citations to appear in court, is creating a procedure that allows criminal defendants the opportunity and choice to appear by remote online methods while still being aware of all their legal rights and protections.

With access to court buildings limited, a new approach is being tried in the Peoria Municipal Court.

Known as online dispute resolution, the Peoria Municipal Court is a pilot court for the new state-designed system. ODR allows defendants cited for criminal traffic or other misdemeanors to receive a full advisory of their legal rights when charged with a misdemeanor offense, including the right to be presumed innocent, the right to an attorney, the right to a fair and impartial trial, have a “not guilty” plea entered and begin the process of pretrial discovery and discussion with the prosecutors, all on a remote basis.

With ODR’s emphasis on full disclosure as to what a criminal misdemeanor entails, defendants have the ability to opt into this alternate procedure and resolve the case more efficiently and promptly.

To learn more about ODR or to search for a case and register, visit courtinnovations.com/AZ750.