A Pima County judge has been named Arizonaβs top justice of the peace.
The Arizona Justice of the Peace Association awarded Judge Maria Felix the Sherry Geisler Justice of the Peace Award, an annual honor presented to the stateβs top justice of the peace.
Felix was the first Mexican-American woman Tucson voters elected to justice of the peace.
Among her accomplishments on the bench have been helping to develop Animal Welfare Court, a specialty court model that other jurisdictions have adopted.
βWinning the Sherry Geisler Award is a wonderful achievement as it demonstrates the high regard her fellow judges throughout the state of Arizona have for her and her contributions both locally and statewide,β Justice Court Administrator Doug Kooi said in a news release.
Felix was born in Douglas and went to high school at Tucson High. She later graduated from the University of Arizona School of Business.
She earned a law degree from UA in 1992.
Felix later served as prosecutor on the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation and worked in private practice.
She was appointed as a temporary justice of the peace in 1996 and was elected to her current post on the bench in 2006.
