Arizona Court of Appeals

The Arizona Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court for the state of Arizona. It is divided into two divisions, with a total of twenty-eight judges on the court: nineteen in Division 1, based in Phoenix, and nine in Division 2, based in Tucson.

History

The Arizona constitution was amended in 1960 to authorize a court of appeals, which the legislature created in 1964. The original judges were elected in November 1964. The first judges were James Duke Cameron, Henry S. Stevens, and Francis J. Donofrio for Division 1,^[1] and Herbert F. Krucker, John F. Molloy, and James D. Hathaway for Division 2.^[2] Only one judge after the original six received their seat by election. After the introduction of merit selection in 1975, judges are appointed by the governor to fill vacancies or new positions.

Three-judge panels were added to Division 1 in 1969, 1974, 1982, and 1989. Another judge was added in 1995 "so that the Chief Judge could devote time to the court's increasing administrative workload."^[2] Division 2 added three judges in 1985.^[2] Six more judges were added in 2022, three for each division.

Jurisdiction

The Court of Appeals has jurisdiction to consider appeals in civil cases, including juvenile and domestic relations matters, from the Arizona Superior Court. The court also reviews workers’ compensation and unemployment benefits decisions, tax court decisions, and certain corporation commission decisions.

The court also has jurisdiction over appeals in criminal matters from superior court, except for cases in which a death sentence has been imposed. Death penalty cases go directly to the Supreme Court of Arizona.

The court may also decide "petitions for special action," which is Arizona's term for petitions for special writs, such as certiorari, mandamus, prohibition, and interlocutory appeals.

Procedures

Selection of judges

Judges 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. Judges are then retained for an initial period, after which they are subject to a retention election. If the judge wins the election, his/her term is six years.

Deciding cases

The Court of Appeals decides cases in panels of three judges, called "departments." Each department chooses a presiding judge from among the three. Each division also has a Chief Judge and Vice Chief Judge, elected by all judges in the division.

Divisions

While the Court of Appeals is divided into two geographic divisions in Phoenix and Tucson, the superior courts are bound by all of the Court of Appeals decisions, regardless of the division they are issued in. An Arizona trial court is not required to give greater precedent to a Court of Appeals decision from the division it is located in then a decision from the other division.^[3]

Division 1 consists of Maricopa, Yuma, La Paz, Mohave, Coconino, Yavapai, Navajo and Apache counties.
Division 2 consists of Pima, Pinal, Cochise, Santa Cruz, Greenlee, Graham and Gila counties.^[4]

At least ten judges of Division 1 must be residents of Maricopa county and five residents of the remaining counties. Four may be from any county. At least four judges of Division 2 must be residents of Pima county and two residents of the remaining counties. Three may be from any county.^[5]

Division 1 has statewide responsibility for appeals from the Industrial Commission and unemployment compensation rulings of the Department of Economic Security.^[6] One department of Division 1 is responsible for appeals from the Tax Court.^[7]

Court members

The members of Arizona Court of Appeals Division 1, by order of seniority,^[8] include:

Name	Appointment	Law school	Appointed by	County	Age	Source
Michael J. Brown^[a]	Jan. 2, 2007	Arizona State University College of Law	Janet Napolitano	Navajo	59–60^[9]	MJB
Randall M. Howe	April 11, 2012	Arizona State University College of Law	Jan Brewer	Maricopa	60–61^[10]	1 2
Samuel A. Thumma^[a]	April 11, 2012	University of Iowa College of Law	Jan Brewer	Maricopa	62–63^[9]	1 2
Kent E. Cattani^[a]	Feb. 9, 2013	UC Berkeley School of Law	Jan Brewer	Maricopa	67–68^[9]	1 2
Paul J. McMurdie	Nov. 14, 2016	Arizona State University College of Law	Doug Ducey	Maricopa		PJM
Maria E. Cruz	April 12, 2017	University of Arizona College of Law	Doug Ducey	Yuma		1 2
Jennifer B. Campbell	April 27, 2017	University of Texas School of Law	Doug Ducey	Yavapai		JBC
Jennifer M. Perkins	Oct. 30, 2017	SMU Dedman School of Law	Doug Ducey	Maricopa		1 2
James B. Morse Jr.	Nov. 6, 2017	University of Virginia School of Law	Doug Ducey	Maricopa		1 2
David D. Weinzweig	Dec. 29, 2017	Arizona State University College of Law	Doug Ducey	Maricopa		1 2
David B. Gass^[b]	Sept. 13, 2019	Arizona State University College of Law	Doug Ducey	Maricopa		1 2
D. Steven Williams	Nov. 1, 2019	Arizona State University College of Law	Doug Ducey	Navajo		1 2
Cynthia J. Bailey	April 24, 2020	Arizona State University College of Law	Doug Ducey	Maricopa		1 2
Brian Y. Furuya	Dec. 23, 2020	J. Reuben Clark Law School	Doug Ducey	Coconino		1 2
Angela K. Paton	Oct. 8, 2021	Arizona State University College of Law	Doug Ducey	Maricopa		1 2
Michael S. Catlett	Dec. 29, 2022	University of Arizona College of Law	Doug Ducey	Maricopa		1 2
Anni L. Hill Foster	Dec. 29, 2022	Gonzaga University School of Law	Doug Ducey	Maricopa		1 2
Daniel J. Kiley	Dec. 29, 2022	Arizona State University College of Law	Doug Ducey	Maricopa		1 2
Andrew M. Jacobs	February 23, 2023	Harvard Law School	Katie Hobbs	Maricopa		1 2

The members of Arizona Court of Appeals, Division 2 include:

Name	Appointment	Law school	Appointed by	County	Age	Source
Peter Eckerstrom^[a]	2003	Stanford Law School	Janet Napolitano	Pima	64	PJE
Garye L. Vasquez^[b]	2005	University of Arizona College of Law	Janet Napolitano	Pinal	66	GVL
Christopher P. Staring	2015	Tulane University Law School	Doug Ducey	Pima		CPS
Karl Eppich	2017	Stanford Law School	Doug Ducey	Pinal		1 2
Sean Brearcliffe	Sept. 20, 2017	Golden Gate University School of Law	Doug Ducey	Pima		1 2
Jeffrey L. Sklar	Dec. 12, 2022	USC Gould School of Law	Doug Ducey	Pima		1 2
Lacey S. Gard	Dec. 29, 2022	University of Arizona College of Law	Doug Ducey	Pinal	44–45^[11]	1 2
Michael F. Kelly	Dec. 29, 2022	University of Arizona College of Law	Doug Ducey	Pinal	44–45^[12]	1 2
Christopher J. O’Neil	Dec. 29, 2022	University of Arizona College of Law	Doug Ducey	Pima		1 2

Former judges

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor served on the court from 1979 to 1981

Several court of appeal judges were elevated to the Arizona Supreme Court, including: James Duke Cameron (1965–1971), Robert J. Corcoran (1981–1988), Ruth McGregor (1989–1998), Michael D. Ryan (1996–2002), Rebecca White Berch (1998–2002), Ann Timmer (2000–2012), Andrew Gould (2012–2017), and James Beene (2017–2019).

Other notable former judges include:

Gary K. Nelson (1974–1978), former Arizona Attorney General.
Mary M. Schroeder (1975–1979), current Senior Judge on the Ninth Circuit.
Sandra Day O'Connor (1979–1981), former United States Supreme Court Justice.
Sarah D. Grant (1982–1999).
Jon W. Thompson (1995–2019), died in office.
G. Murray Snow (2002–2008), current District Judge.
Diane Johnsen (2006–2019).

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Former Chief Judge
^ ^a ^b Current Chief Judge

References

^ History of the Court
^ ^a ^b ^c Irvine, Hon. Patrick. "The Arizona Court of Appeals (1965-2005)" (PDF). myazbar.org. Arizona State Bar. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
^ State v. Patterson, 218 P.3d 1031, 1037 (Ariz. App. 2009)
^ A.R.S. § 12–120
^ A.R.S. § 12–120.02
^ "Court of Appeals".
^ A.R.S. § 12–170
^ 2018 Annual Review
^ ^a ^b ^c Seven finalists named for state supreme court
^ State appeals judge challenged biases as first person with cerebral palsy to argue before SCOTUS
^ "Lacey S. Gard Judge". Pinal County Judicial Bio. Pinal County. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
^ "Michael Kelly Certified by State Bar of Arizona". Hollingsworth Law. August 17, 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2022.

External links

[Former-9] Former Chief Judge

[Current-12] Current Chief Judge

[1] History of the Court

[HIS-2] Irvine, Hon. Patrick. "The Arizona Court of Appeals (1965-2005)" (PDF). myazbar.org. Arizona State Bar. Retrieved 15 June 2022.

[3] State v. Patterson, 218 P.3d 1031, 1037 (Ariz. App. 2009)

[4] A.R.S. § 12–120

[5] A.R.S. § 12–120.02

[6] "Court of Appeals".

[7] A.R.S. § 12–170

[8] 2018 Annual Review

[age-10] Seven finalists named for state supreme court

[11] State appeals judge challenged biases as first person with cerebral palsy to argue before SCOTUS

[13] "Lacey S. Gard Judge". Pinal County Judicial Bio. Pinal County. Retrieved 31 December 2022.

[14] "Michael Kelly Certified by State Bar of Arizona". Hollingsworth Law. August 17, 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2022.

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