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Counselor

Marana has hired Tucson Chief Public Defender Chuck Davies to be its town magistrate.

Davies, 63, was the top vote-getter among six finalists the Marana Town Council interviewed Wednesday night during a special meeting. He will be appointed to a two-year term, and is expected to begin the first week of September.

Marana had advertised its magistrate opening with a salary range of $90,000 to $102,000. Davies currently is paid $130,125 a year.

Davies replaces Jim West, who was fired by Marana on April 29.

The judicial position will be the first of its kind for Davies, who has been a part of Tucson's Public Defender's Office since the office was created in 1989.

Davies has been in charge of the office since 1990.

"I haven't applied for any judicial openings in Tucson or Pima County before, but when Marana came up I was really excited," he said. "It's a chance for me to get active in the community again."

Davies said his office, which provides legal defense for indigent clients accused of misdemeanor crimes such as DUI and domestic violence, handled more than 10,000 cases in 2007.

Davies said he personally handles between 250 and 300 cases a year.

Though switching from the courtroom floor to the bench, Davies said he sees similarities in his current job and his new post.

"It's just a different role in the same system," he said. "It doesn't matter if you're a prosecutor, a defender or a judge, you're all sworn to protect people's rights."

Marana fired West, who had been the town's magistrate for six years, after learning he had allegedly retaliated against a Marana Municipal Court employee who was involved in an investigation that led to West's being reprimanded by the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct.

West received the reprimand in February for a pair of ethics violations, one involving the use of sick leave to work as a pro tempore judge in Ajo and another in which he presided over the traffic case of a Marana man who is a member of West's Rotary Club.

Marana council members said their main objective in selecting a new magistrate was finding a candidate who possesses managerial and administrative skills that are as developed as the candidate's legal knowledge.

"It's easy to see how their performance (in the courtroom) is," Marana Councilman Jon Post said. "It's harder to read how they're going to handle the day-to-day operations of the court."

Also important: someone who will be a good public face on the town's court.

"We definitely looked for somebody that could get along with people," Post said. "Somebody that wasn't going to embarrass the town through their actions on the bench or off the bench."

Davies said he is not familiar with all the circumstances that led to West's removal, which came only three weeks after he was reappointed to a fourth two-year term.

"If some of the things I heard are true, those are some things that would concern me, and I would certainly want to do some things differently," Davies said.

"Frankly, my strength is management, administration and community involvement.

"I think the magistrate has the obligation to get out in the community and sell the court. You want the community to know they will be treated courteously and they will be heard fairly and justly."

Davies is scheduled to be formally appointed by the Marana Town Council at either its Aug. 5 or Aug. 12 meeting, said Assistant Town Manager Deb Thalasitis.

"Hopefully, we'll have another six years without any sort of incidents," Marana Mayor Ed Honea said.

Tucson officials said they have not decided on a process to replace Davies.