Pima County Justice of the Peace Adam Watters will not be allowed to serve as a judicial officer in Arizona after his current term expires in December, the stateβs Commission on Judicial Conduct announced Wednesday.
The commission, an independent state agency that investigates judicial misconduct claims, announced ethics charges against Watters in May that alleged he violated state judicial conduct rules and the Arizona Constitution for his conduct during a confrontation involving firearms.
The charges centered around events in February 2021 when Watters fired a gun at the ground near Fei Qin, a plaintiff who previously appeared before the judge at court hearings, and Wattersβ alleged use of profanity when he was served a subpoena. Watters has said he fired a βwarning shotβ after Qin lungedat him, and that Qin had scattered trash around Wattersβ Catalina Foothills home and stalked him and his family for weeks.
A jury convicted Qin on stalking charges in December, and a judge sentenced him to 18 months in prison.
Watters denies the allegations of wrongdoing against him, but agreed to terms in a stipulated resolution that forbids him from serving as a judicial officer after Dec. 31, when his term expires. As the only candidate running for the position, Sen. Victoria Steele, D-Tucson, will take over as Justice of the Peace for Justice Precinct 1 in January.
The terms barring Watters from taking any judicial position were established at a Sept. 7 meeting when βthe hearing panel accepted the stipulated resolution of the parties and found it was in the interests of justice,β according to a news release from the commission.
Watters was not criminally charged in the shooting after a review by the Pinal County Attorneyβs Office.
