Arizona Supreme Court

The court started in 1912 with three justices. Alfred Franklin, Donald L. Cunningham, and Henry D. Ross took office on February 14, 1912. In 1949, the Court expanded from three to five justices.William O. Douglas, Arizona's New Judicial Article, 2 ARIZ. L. REV. 159 (1960). In 2016 it was further expanded from five to seven justices.{{Cite web|url=https://kjzz.org/content/269920/bill-would-add-2-new-justices-arizona-supreme-court|title=Bill Would Add 2 New Justices To Arizona Supreme Court|date=February 25, 2016|website=KJZZ}} This expansion was criticized at the time by some as court packing.{{Cite web |last=Berman |first=Russell |date=2016-05-10 |title=Arizona Republicans Try to Bring Back Court-Packing |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/court-packing-enjoys-a-political-renaissance/481758/ |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}

The jurisdiction of the court is prescribed by Article VI, Section 5 of the Arizona Constitution.[https://www.azleg.gov/viewDocument/?docName=http://www.azleg.gov/const/6/5.htm Ariz. Const. Art. VI, § 5.] Most of the appeals heard by the court go through the Arizona Court of Appeals, except for death penalty cases, over which the Arizona Supreme Court has sole appellate jurisdiction. The court also has original jurisdiction in a few other circumstances as outlined in the Arizona Constitution. A quorum is three, but the whole court must sit in order to declare a law unconstitutional.[https://www.azleg.gov/viewDocument/?docName=http://www.azleg.gov/const/6/2.htm Ariz. Const. Art. VI, § 2.]

File:Arizona Supreme Court, Phoenix, Arizona - panoramio.jpg.]]

The chief justice is chosen for a five-year term by the court, and is eligible for re-election. They supervise the administration of all the inferior courts. They are chairman of the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments, which nominates candidates to fill vacancies in the appellate courts. If the governor fails to appoint one of the nominated candidates within sixty days of their names being submitted to her or him, the chief justice makes the appointment.

The vice chief justice, who acts as chief justice in the latter's "absence or incapacity," is chosen by the court for a term determined by the court.[https://www.azleg.gov/viewDocument/?docName=http://www.azleg.gov/const/6/3.htm Ariz. Const. Art. VI, § 3.]

Justices are selected by a modified form of the Missouri Plan. A bipartisan commission considers applicants and sends a list of nominees to the governor. The governor is required by law to appoint from this list based on merit, without regard to party affiliation. Justices are then retained for an initial period, after which they are subject to a retention election. If the justice wins the election, their term is six years.

Between February and April 2024, the Arizona Senate (with all Republican state senators approving and all Democratic state senators objecting) passed a resolution to change the Arizona Supreme Court term length from six years to lifelong, which would apply retroactively and override the result of the November 2024 Arizona Supreme Court retention elections. The resolution was approved by the{{Cite web |title=Bill Status Inquiry |url=https://apps.azleg.gov/billStatus/BillOverview/81301 |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=apps.azleg.gov}} Arizona House of Representatives and sent to voters as Prop 137 for the November 2024 election.{{cite news |last1=Priest |first1=Regan |title=GOP-backed ballot measure would keep Arizona Supreme Court intact, even justices voted out |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2024/04/19/senate-resolution-could-keep-az-supreme-court-justices-from-removal/73374965007/ |access-date=April 20, 2024 |work=Arizona Republic |date=April 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240419153007/https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2024/04/19/senate-resolution-could-keep-az-supreme-court-justices-from-removal/73374965007/ |archive-date=April 19, 2024}} Prop 137 was overwhelmingly rejected, with 77.7% of voters voting “no”.{{Cite web|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/results/2024/11/05/arizona-proposition-137/ |title=Arizona Proposition 137|website=www.washingtonpost.com}}

• Admitted to the practice of law in Arizona and be a resident of Arizona for the 10 years before taking office;
• May not practice law while a member of the judiciary;
• May not hold any other political office or public employment;
• May not hold office in any political party;
• May not campaign, except for him/herself; and,
• Must retire at age 70.{{Cite web|url=https://www.azcourts.gov/AZ-Supreme-Court|title=AZ Supreme Court|website=www.azcourts.gov}}

{{main|List of justices of the Arizona Supreme Court}}

The current Arizona Supreme Court includes:

{{Notelist}}

{{image array |perrow=7 |width=140 |height=150

| image1 = Ann Timmer by Gage Skidmore.jpg

| caption1 = Chief Justice Ann Timmer

| image2 = John Lopez IV by Gage Skidmore.jpg

| caption2 = Vice Chief Justice John Lopez IV

| image4 = Clint Bolick January 2019.jpg

| caption4 = Justice Clint Bolick

| image5 = James Beene by Gage Skidmore.jpg

| caption5 = Justice James Beene

| image6 = Bill Montgomery by Gage Skidmore 3.jpg

| caption6 = Justice Bill Montgomery

| image7 = Kathryn Hackett King by Gage Skidmore.jpg

| caption7 = Justice Kathryn Hackett King

}}

{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2022}}

• Alfred Franklin (1912–1914, 1917)
• Henry D. Ross (1915–1916, 1921–1922, 1927–1928, 1933–1934, 1939–1940, 1945)
• Donald L. Cunningham (1918–1920)
• Archibald G. McAlister (1923–1926, 1931–1932, 1937–1938, 1943–1944)
• Alfred C. Lockwood (1929–1930, 1935–1936, 1941–1942)
• Rawghlie Clement Stanford (1945–1948)
• Arthur T. LaPrade (1949–1950, 1955–1956)
• Levi Stewart Udall (1951–1952)
• Rawghlie Clement Stanford (1953–1953)
• Marlin T. Phelps (1954–1954, 1959)
• Levi Stewart Udall (1957–1958)
• Fred C. Struckmeyer Jr. (1960–1961, 1966, 1971, 1980–1981)
• Charles C. Bernstein (1962–1963, 1967–1967)
• Jesse Addison Udall (1964–1964, 1969)
• Lorna E. Lockwood (1965–1965, 1970) (First female chief justice in the United States)
• Ernest McFarland (1968–1968)
• Jack D. H. Hays (1972–1974)
• James Duke Cameron (1975–1979)
• William A. Holohan (1982–1987)
• Frank Gordon Jr. (1987–1992)
• Stanley G. Feldman (1992–1997)
• Thomas A. Zlaket (1997–2002)
• Charles E. Jones (2002–2005)
• Ruth McGregor (2005–2009)
• Rebecca White Berch (2009–2014)
• Scott Bales (2014–2019)
• Robert M. Brutinel (2019–2024)
• Ann Timmer (2024–present)

• Harrison v. Laveen, 67 Ariz. 337, 196 P.2d 456 (1948), a case in which the Court held that the state constitution's use of the phrase "persons under guardianship" applied only to judicial guardianship and had "no application to the plaintiffs or to the Federal status of Indians in Arizona as a class."{{cite journal|url=https://arizonastatelawjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ferguson_Final.pdf| title=The History of Indian Voting Rights in Arizona: Overcoming Decades of Voter Suppression| first=Patty| last=Ferguson-Bohnee| journal=Arizona State Law Journal| pages=1099–1112}}
• Spur Industries, Inc. v. Del E. Webb Development Co., 108 Ariz. 178, 494 P.2d 700 (1972), a case addressing the principles of nuisance law.
• Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Mayes, CV-23-0005-PR (2024), a case upholding Arizona's abortion ban enacted in 1864.{{cite web |title=Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Mayes |url=https://www.lwv.org/legal-center/planned-parenthood-arizona-v-mayes |publisher=League of Women Voters |access-date=10 April 2024}}

{{Portal|Arizona|Law}}

• Arizona Bar Exam
• Courts of Arizona

{{reflist}}

• Map: {{Coord|33|26|51|N|112|05|33|W|format=dms|display=inline,title|type:landmark_region:US-AZ}}
• [https://www.azcourts.gov/meetthejustices/Judicial-History Arizona Supreme Court Justices]
• [https://www.azleg.gov/constitution/?article=6 Arizona Constitution, Article VI]
• [https://www.azcourts.gov/ Arizona Judicial Branch]

{{US Judiciaries}}

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Arizona

Category:1912 establishments in Arizona

Category:Courts and tribunals established in 1912