Hon. Joseph Kreamer is the presiding judge of the Criminal Department at the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County (Greater Phoenix). The Maricopa court is the fourth-largest general jurisdiction state trial court in the country, and more than 30,000 felonies are filed in the criminal department. The court uses a number of innovative criminal-case-processing techniques that have been adopted by other courts nationwide, including an electronic search warrant center, early disposition processing for low-level drug possession cases within 20 days of arrest, and a unique criminal settlement conference program. Judge Kreamer was appointed to the bench in 2007 and has served as both a civil and criminal trial judge. Previously, he was a named principal in his own firm, Hopkins & Kreamer, LLP (1997-2007) and an associate with the multistate Snell & Wilmer law firm (1989-97). He is an active member of the Arizona State Bar, Maricopa County Bar Association, and the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education. He has received the John P. Frank for Justice Award (2002) and has been named as one of the “Top 50 Pro Bono Lawyers in Arizona” (2002) and the Volunteer Attorney of the Year by the Maricopa County Volunteer Lawyers Program (1991). In his work on the criminal bench, he has tried numerous high-profile cases. Judge Kreamer received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona, College of Law (1989), and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arizona (1985).
