Glendale City Council Appoints Chad Heywood To Judge Position

Published on October 01, 2025

A familiar face with diverse experience as a judge and an attorney in Glendale and cities around the state will take on a new role starting next month. The Glendale City Council last week unanimously appointed Chad Heywood to be a City Judge in Glendale City Court, starting Oct. 16.

Heywood has been serving as Glendale’s Court Hearing Officer since January and has also been appointed as a Judge Pro Tempore for the Glendale City Court since July 2024. Mayor Jerry Weiers and the Glendale City Council have been impressed with Heywood’s accomplishments and familiarity with Glendale City Court.

“With the opportunity that I had to be a Judge Pro Tem, I saw the culture Glendale had and it was an environment I wanted to be in,” Heywood said. “It’s just very collaborative, everybody works together on the goals that need to be accomplished for the court. One of the biggest things I plan to focus on is making sure everyone has equal access to justice and has the ability to be heard and present what they want to in the court.”

A graduate of Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, Heywood previously worked as an attorney managing firm operations and leading criminal defense, civil traffic, personal injury and estate planning cases at Riggs, Ellsworth & Porter Law Firm in Apache Junction. He served as Deputy County Attorney in the Pinal County Attorney’s Office in Florence from 2016 to 2019, where he conducted numerous felony and DUI trials. Heywood also worked as a legal extern in the city of Mesa Prosecutor’s Office and later as an adjunct professor teaching legal classes at Grand Canyon University from 2018 to 2023. He is passionate about helping people through Glendale Mental Health Court, which aims to assist people who have mental illnesses and/or developmental disabilities in the resolution of their criminal cases via a cooperative effort.

“I’m proud to welcome Judge Chad Heywood to the Glendale City Court and the reappointment of Judge Jack Pritt,” said Glendale Mayor Jerry P. Weiers. “Under the leadership of Presiding Judge Nicholas DiPiazza, our court system is stronger than ever, and I am grateful for the dedicated judges who serve our city.”

The Glendale City Court, which is part of the Arizona Judicial System, is the Judicial Branch of the Glendale City Government. It adjudicates criminal misdemeanors, city code violations and some juvenile offenses committed in Glendale. The court issues protective orders and has the authority to issue search warrants for felonies and misdemeanors. To learn more about Glendale City Court, visit City Court | City of Glendale, AZ