A. In a noncriminal case, at the request of a party or on the court’s own motion, the presiding judge of the superior court or a judge designated by the presiding judge of the superior court may designate a pro se litigant a vexatious litigant.

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 12-3201

  • Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.

B. A pro se litigant who is designated a vexatious litigant may not file a new pleading, motion or other document without prior leave of the court.

C. A pro se litigant is a vexatious litigant if the court finds the pro se litigant engaged in vexatious conduct.

D. The requesting party may make an amended request at any time if the court either:

1. Determined that the party is not a vexatious litigant and the requesting party has new information or evidence that is relevant to the determination, even if there is not a pending case in the court.

2. Did not rule on the original request during the pendency of the action, even if there is not a pending case in the court.

E. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Vexatious conduct" includes any of the following:

(a) Repeated filing of court actions solely or primarily for the purpose of harassment.

(b) Unreasonably expanding or delaying court proceedings.

(c) Court actions brought or defended without substantial justification.

(d) Engaging in abuse of discovery or conduct in discovery that has resulted in the imposition of sanctions against the pro se litigant.

(e) A pattern of making unreasonable, repetitive and excessive requests for information.

(f) Repeated filing of documents or requests for relief that have been the subject of previous rulings by the court in the same litigation.

2. "Without substantial justification" has the same meaning prescribed in section 12-349.