Dennis L. McGuire

Dennis L. McGuire was appointed to the Fourth Judicial District Court in July 2024. His docket is half domestic relations matters and half criminal cases. Before the appointment he served for several years as a county court judge and, before that, as a district court magistrate judge. Before joining the bench he was a deputy state public defender. He earned his undergraduate degree from Northern Arizona University in 1998 and his law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 2001.

He has mentored refugee families, takes part in the Judicially Speaking program for students, and serves on the Family Law Day and Legal Resource Day planning committees of the Fourth Judicial District Access to Justice Commission.

The Fourth Judicial District's commission voted 10 to 0 that he meets performance standards. Seven attorneys and fourteen non-attorneys responded to its surveys, and the commission writes that "although limited in number, the survey responses were consistent with its independent evaluations."

The commission writes that his opinions and rulings reflect his command of the law and "a deliberate, plain language approach that avoids legalese and ensures that self-represented litigants can clearly understand the court’s reasoning." It reports that since his last evaluation he has attended conferences and completed courses in family law and legal writing. It reports that he recognizes his cases often involve sensitive issues that give rise to strong emotions and, at times, dissatisfaction with the outcomes, and that he "expressed a continued commitment to treating attorneys, litigants, and victims with dignity and respect in his courtroom."