Executive


Arizona Court Executive (ACE)  

 

Eligibility: Participants must be an Arizona judicial branch employee, and; 

  • Be recommended for the program by current supervisor and approved by division head or presiding judge/chief judge, and;
  • Completed the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) Institute for Court Management (ICM) Certified Court Manager Program (CCM) OR   Completed the AZ Court Manager (ACM) program, OR  Has a degree in management, court administration or equivalent OR 
  • Is currently employed as a: Full-time Judicial Officer, Superior Court Administrator, Clerk of the Court, Chief Probation Officer, or Juvenile Court Director/Chief Probation Officer.

     

Admission: 

To apply for admittance to the ACE program, complete and submit a program application to [email protected].                                                              (Choose the appropriate application below.) 

 

 

Court/Department Application: Admission requires approval of one’s court or department head—typically the presiding judge, chief probation officer, juvenile court director, clerk of the court or superior court administrator AND the individual responsible for funding approval (court/dept. paying the certification fee, travel costs, etc.) if not the individuals listed.  

 

ACE Application (rev. 2025)

(Courts/Departments)

To register for the Arizona Court Executive program, DOWNLOAD, complete and submit:
ACE Application

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

OR

                                                                                                                                          

AOC Staff Application: Admission requires approval from the AOC employee’s division director and the AOC Director or Deputy Director.

 

ACE Application (rev. 2025)

(AOC Staff)

To register for the Arizona Court Executive program as an AOC employee, DOWNLOAD, complete and submit: 
AOC Staff - ACE Application 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                             

Course Location: Classes are held in person at the Judicial Education Center (JEC) at 3003 N. Central Ave., 5th Floor, in Phoenix, AZ, 85012

 

Class Enrollment:

Once admitted to the program, participants will receive the passwords to enroll in classes. Class enrollment is limited and is on a first come, first serve basis. Participants are responsible to check the website often for updated class information and registration postings. 

 

All classes for the calendar year are posted on our homepage: www.azcourts.gov/clia and class information can be obtained from the links. Once registration is open, enrollment can be completed using those same links. Participants are encouraged to contact [email protected] for assistance. 

 

Program Requirements:

  • Participants must complete the entire ACE program within seven years of the first class being taken.  If all coursework is not completed within the 7-year timeframe, then the first class (and each subsequent class) taken outside of the 7-year timeframe will need to be repeated and all fees repaid.

Curriculum:

The curriculum consists of seven NCSC Institute for Court Management courses: 

  • Educational Development (1.5 days)
  • Executive Decision Making (2.5 days)
  • Leadership (2.5 days)
  • Modern Court Governance (2.5 days)
  • Operations Management (2.5 days)
  • Public Relations (1.5 days)
  • Visioning & Strategic Planning (2.5 days)

 

Information on each of the seven courses can be found in the Certified Court Executive (CCE) Course Catalog. 

Also required is one Arizona specific course: 

  • ACE Operational Excellence (formerly AZ PLUS ACE Capstone) (1 day - no charge for this class) Topics Include:  

  • Balancing Judicial Independence and “Interdependencies”; Security & Continuity of Operations (COOP); others TBD

Travel and per diem are the responsibility of each individual and / or their court. Tribal court employees are subject to additional program fees. Please contact Education Services ([email protected]) for further information.

 

Certified Court Executive (CCE) Credit: There is a $100.00 ICM fee per each of the ICM courses. Once you have successfully registered for each course, an invoice will be sent by Julee Bruno ([email protected]). Payment should be completed one week prior to the start of class; it MUST be received by us no later than the day before the class or you will not be allowed to attend at that time.

 

NOTE: The ICM Certified Court Manager (CCM) certification must be obtained prior to the ICM Certified Court Executive (CCE) certification. This also applies if participants are planning to attend the Institute for Court Management Fellows program. Please contact us at [email protected] for further information.