Arizona Supreme Court

Arizona Supreme Court
Seal of the Arizona Supreme Court
Established	1912
Country	United States
Location	Phoenix, Arizona
Composition method	Missouri plan with retention elections
Authorized by	Arizona Constitution
Decisions are appealed to	Supreme Court of the United States
Judge term length	6 years
No. of positions	7
Website	Official site
Chief Justice
Currently	Scott Bales
Since	July 1, 2014
Lead position ends	June 30, 2019

The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. It consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice, and five associate justices. Each justice is appointed by the governor of Arizona from a list recommended by a bipartisan commission. Justices stand for retention in an election two years after their appointment and then every six years.^[1] They must retire at age 70.

The Chief Justice is chosen for a five-year term by the court, and is eligible for re-election. He or she supervises the administration of all the inferior courts. He or she is 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.^[2]

The jurisdiction of the court is prescribed by Article VI, Section 5 of the Arizona Constitution.^[3] 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.^[4]

Contents

• 
  1 Selection of justices
  
  
  
  • 
    1.1 Qualifications
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  2 Justices
  


• 
  3 Court history
  


• 
  4 Chief Justices
  


• 
  5 See also
  


• 
  6 Sources
  


• 
  7 References
  


• 
  8 External links
  

Selection of justices

Arizona Supreme Court Building in downtown Phoenix.

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, his/her term is six years.

Qualifications

• 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.^[5]
  

Justices

Main article: List of Justices of the Arizona Supreme Court

The current Arizona Supreme Court includes:

Title	Name	Appointment	Reaches age 70	Law school graduated from	Appointed by
Chief Justice	Scott Bales	2005	2026	Harvard Law School	Janet Napolitano
Vice Chief Justice	Robert M. Brutinel	2010	2028	University of Arizona	Jan Brewer
Associate Justice	John Pelander	2009	2021	University of Arizona	Jan Brewer
Associate Justice	Ann Timmer	2012	2030	Arizona State University College of Law	Jan Brewer
Associate Justice	Clint Bolick	2016	2027	UC Davis School of Law	Doug Ducey
Associate Justice	Andrew Gould	2016	2034	Northwestern University School of Law	Doug Ducey
Associate Justice	John Lopez IV	2016	2039	Arizona State University College of Law	Doug Ducey

Court history

The court started in 1912 with 3 justices, they were Alfred Franklin, Donald L. Cunningham, and Henry D. Ross and took office on February 14, 1912. In 1949, the Court expanded from 3 to 5 justices.^[6] In 2016, the Court expanded from 5 to 7 justices.^[7]

Chief Justices

• 
  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 W. McFarland (1968–1968)


• 
  Jack D.H. Hays (1972–1974)


• 
  James Duke Cameron (1975–1979)


• 
  William A. Holohan (1982–1987)


• 
  Frank X. Gordon Jr. (1987–1992)


• 
  Stanley G. Feldman (1992–1997)


• 
  Thomas A. Zlaket (1997–2002)


• 
  Charles E. Jones (2002–2005)


• 
  Ruth V. McGregor (2005–2009)


• 
  Rebecca White Berch (2009–2014)


• 
  Scott Bales (2014 to Present)

See also

• Arizona Bar Exam


• Courts of Arizona

Sources

• Arizona Supreme Court Justices


• Arizona Constitution, Article VI


• Arizona Judicial Branch

References

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2. 
   ^ "Format Document".
   


3. 
   ^ "Article 6 Section 5 - Supreme court; jurisdiction; writs; rules; habeas corpus".
   


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   ^ "Format Document".
   


5. 
   ^ http://www.azcourts.gov/AZ-Supreme-Court
   


6. 
   ^ William O. Douglas, Arizona's New Judicial Article, 2 ARIZ. L. REV. 159 (1960).
   


7. 
   ^ http://kjzz.org/content/269920/bill-would-add-2-new-justices-arizona-supreme-court
   

External links

• Map: 33°26′51″N 112°05′33″W / 33.44750°N 112.09250°W / 33.44750; -112.09250Coordinates: 33°26′51″N 112°05′33″W / 33.44750°N 112.09250°W / 33.44750; -112.09250
  


• [1]

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